Breath of Life
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Kurosaki Isshin used to be known as Shiba Isshin until he lost his powers and ended up stuck in the living world, thought to be dead. His inability to stop the disasters that befell his family in soul society come back to haunt him. For Kaien isn't thought to be dead, he is. Yet there he is walking around instead of having passed into the cycle of rebirth.
1. Prolog

_Disclaimer ~ I don't own Bleach. Have any of you had someone tell you that you're spelling prolog wrong and that it is spelled prologue? I have, twice. The funny thing is, both spellings are correct._

**Breath of Life  
****_Prolog~_**

A beeping sound came in a steady rhythm accompanied by a pinking sound and air moving in and out of something. At first the vision was fuzzy, but then a series of blinking lights came into view. A breath of air could be felt going into the lungs. The eyes darted to the left and noticed a man standing over him. The man's face was painted up and he grinned so that his teeth showed to the gums. "He's awake Nemu."

"Yes Master Mayuri." The eyes then darted over to the other voice and saw a dark haired female. "The recorded memories we found are working quite well on the subject."

"_Memories? What memories? Who am I?_" A flash of memory came to the person, only to be pushed away in a violent manner mentally. A sudden surge of energy came to the muscles and the person was moving and sitting up. A hand reached up and pulled things from his body despite the pain involved.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? You're a test subject so lie back down already! You aren't allowed to do that!" The eyes turned to look at the man, before he instinctivly moved away and out of the room with good speed. He could hear this Master Mayuri person screaming his head off. "Damn it! I should have made sure he couldn't move! I had better catch him before someone outside of the division finds out."

He however found himself hiding a certain _feeling_ to hide himself as he ducked behind various walls. The hiding of said _feeling_ came to him instinctively. Glancing down, he could see that he was dressed in black traditional clothing, along with tabi socks and sandals. Carefully, he moved through the building in an attempt to look for an escape.

Finally, he came to the outdoors and breathed in the fresh air. He paused only for a few minutes before taking off away from the buildings. He somehow managed to jump over the wall that surrounded the place and was taking off. He found himself heading for a particular direction and found himself in front of a rather large gate that was being guarded.

Again, instinct kicked in and he quickly knocked the guards unconscious and headed through the gate. He found himself in a tunnel that had strange substance dripping from the wall. His feet however kept hurrying along and he sped towards the entrance that he hoped would be on the other side. His body kept surging forward. The feeling that it was dangerous to let that man capture him wouldn't leave him mind alone.

When he came out of the tunnel, the first thing he felt was the sensation of falling through the air, as he hadn't expected there to be no ground below his feet. He smashed into the ground hard, but for some reason his body was still able to move. "_A normal human wouldn't be __able__ to do these kinds of things._"

Glancing around, he found himself in a place where the style of buildings were modern compared to what he had seen before. A light drizzle fell down and he headed out towards the street. He turned to speak to one of the people out walking on the side walk. "Hey... can you help me. I seem too..."

He found himself suddenly staring ahead as the person walked right past him as if he wasn't there. The rain then began to pour down harder and he stopped trying to hide _that feeling_ as he felt he had finally gotten far enough away. That, and he started to feel a chill run through his body as the rain poured down, the feeling being so familiar and dreaded.

Clutching his arms to his chest he carefully stepped away and simply kept walking, not knowing where he was going to go. He kept his eyes to the ground, bumping into a few people. While they noticed that someone was physically there, there response when they looked was of absolute disbelief. His nose began to drip and the energy that coursed through his body to escape was suddenly fading.

His head was drawn up as he heard a loud howling noise and his body became more chilled, this time with a fear he couldn't place. Carefully, he turned his head to look in the direction and saw a monster that only he could see. The thing licked its lips. "I can't believe my luck, I happen across a shinigami to eat. One with a great deal of spiritual pressure I might add."

"Shinigami? I don't..." The monster however lunged at him and he found himself dodging to the side, his hand going to his side to grab the hilt of a blade he hadn't known was there. He brought the blade up to make contact with the mask that the monster was wearing, only to find himself being pushed back in his weakened state. He also knew he was becoming weaker.

"_I don't want to be eaten again. What the hell do I mean by again!_" He made another instinctive parrying, but the third caused him to find himself being thrown to the ground, landing hard. Letting out a deep sigh, he found himself covering his face, only to find a black flash in front of him destroying the monster."

The man that now stood in front of him was dressed similar to the man he had been trying to run from and instinctively he stood up and prepared to run again. However, when the man turned to look at him, he found himself looking into a familiar face. A memory then flashed for him, one that he didn't try to push away.

_The room he was in was an old traditional style, and the door opened and a younger version of this man appeared before him. He found himself getting up from a kneeling position to greet the man. "Nii-sama. You're home."_

He then found himself falling forward into the man's arms, not noticing the startled look on his face. Before blacking out, he found himself uttering the name he knew that man by from the memory. "Nii-sama..."

_Author's note – Sometimes when one reads badfic one gets inspiration for goodfic. Yesterday I cam across a fanfic featuring the pairing Kaien/Rukia. It was written by someone who felt Kaien shouldn't have died the way he did. They also felt that his wife wasn't good enough or hot enough for him, but Rukia was._

_As for the fanfic, the writer randomly had Kaien come back to life after the evens of the Winter War instead of passing into the cycle of rebirth. On top of everyone brushing his reappearing in front of them way to easily and it only being a plot point to get Kaien and Rukia together, the writer created two Mary Sues to pair with Ichigo and Byakuya._

_Anyways, I was thinking to myself, "If I were to bring Kaien back to life I would at least think of a way to do it without breaking canon." I then remembered one of the Espada did experiments and Mayuri found the specimens. I then thought to myself, "Bingo." A couple of notes for this fanfic. While I have Kaien dying before Isshin left Soul Society in __Admiration__, in this fanfic it happens afterwords. This also takes place after the fullbringer arc and runs AU from there._


	2. Through the Rain

**Breath of Life  
**_**Through the Rain~**_

A clicking sound could be heard as Isshin set down the clipboard. The last patient had just left and he could close up the clinic for the day. The former shinigami was in a good mood as things were going well for his family and so far no one had figured out that he was alive and well in the world of the living.

He headed to the door and turned the key in the lock. His head suddenly darted up as he felt a familiar reiatsu in the area. His mouth moved, saying aloud what he was actually thinking. "It can't be. He's supposed to be dead."

Isshin pushed his lips together as the feeling of dread simply wouldn't leave him alone. Letting out a deep sigh he headed to his desk and popped a piece of soul candy into his mouth. He then headed through the front door, glad that his son wasn't there to ask what was going on. The man flash stepped in the direction of the reiatsu he was feeling as the rain poured down on his shoulders.

The man's dark eyes suddenly went wide upon seeing the young man that was fighting against the Hollow. They quickly narrowed as the young man was knocked off his feet and to the ground. Isshin found himself quickly moving to intercept the Hollow. Upon defeating the creature, he turned his head to look at the young man who had managed to stand up on shaky feet.

The young man looked as if he was going to dash off, but then paused as a look of recognition passed over his face. The man then tilted forward as his eyes rolled up into his head. As Isshin caught him, the young man spoke up. "Nii-sama."

"Kaien..." The former shinigami let out a deep sigh, before dropping down to his knees so he could lift the young man over his shoulder. "I'm kind of wishing you didn't weigh so much. You're going to break my back." Isshin then stood up and headed back towards his house, hoping that neither Ichigo or Karin would be in the house to see what was going on. "_He's not supposed to be alive at all._"

"_You've said this before. However, this is Kaien's reiatsu. I can also feel his zampaktuo spirit in there, but for some strange reason it seems to be asleep._" Isshin's zampaktuo spoke up, causing the man to frown.

The man then came to the front door and carefully opened it. He then headed towards the clinic door and opened another door. He watched as his soul candy pretended to be working and he walked over to one of the rooms and dropped Kaien onto the bed. He set up a kido barrier to make it so that Kaien's spiritual pressure couldn't be traced.

He then headed back to his desk and got back into his body allowing the piece of soul candy to pop out.

He then grabbed the phone and dialed up the number for Urahara's shop. The phone rang for a few times before the man picked up. "I am need of a favor."

"_I take it you felt that spiritual pressure too?_" The silver haired man let out a chuckle. "_I spent enough time around the Shiba family to recognize the particular spiritual pressure._"

"Nothing felt off about it though?" Isshin asked, glancing up from his desk in the direction his brother was in.

"_No... it didn't feel like anything was wrong._" Urahara stated. "_Other then the fact bother of us happen to know that he is dead._"

"How do I put this. The person I encountered looked exactly like my brother. He also recognized who I was. At least, he recognized that I was Kaien's brother." The man began to tap on the desk.

"_I did pass on the message to you that when he and the hollow died it returned to Los Mundos. It was then absorbed by another hollow that gained his memories and such._" A tapping sound could be heard over the phone as the man messed with his fan.

"You also told me Rukia finished her business with Kaien. He should have passed into the cycle of rebirth." Isshin had glanced down at the desk and stopped his fingers from moving, only to glance up. "And yet here he is in _my _clinic. I'm not sure if it is Kaien or not. I mean, it is hard for me to believe that it is possible for him to be alive Kisuke. And yet I saw him in front of me and he called me Nii-sama."

There was a pausing sound from the other side of the phone. "_When was the last time you heard him call you Nii-sama. Normally he would have been more formal with you._"

Isshin paused what he was doing. "_He stopped calling me Nii-sama after he graduated from the academy and entered Ukitake's squad. Unless of course he was making a humerus jab at me._"

"_Well... if this is Kaien then something is wrong with him. There is a chance he doesn't have all of his memories._" There came another flicking sound of the fan from over the phone. "_Either he has amnesia, or someone has tried recreating your brother for some reason. Or both._"

"And this helps me how?" Isshin found himself shaking his head in disbelief. "Kisuke... if Soul Society finds out about him he is likely to be put to death whether he is Kaien or not, simply because he _is_ supposed to be dead."

"_The laws in Soul Society have changed. I've told you that you are likely safe as are your children from repercussions for having children with a woman of the living world. They'll probably not react the way that you think they will._"

"But you don't know for sure." Isshin grabbed a piece of paper and began to jot things down.

"_No... I don't know for sure._"

"Then I can't allow Soul Society to find out that he is here. I am going to need a gigai for him."

Urahara suddenly let out a deep sigh. "_Are you sure about this Isshin, you are honestly not sure if this is the real Kaien or not. And how are your kids going to react to a strange person showing up all of a sudden._"

"I take back what I said about it being Kaien or not. Even if someone tried recreating him, he is still Kaien. Plus, I've got Kon as a member of the family now, so I can't brush this off like this."

"_What about a Soul Candy for him?_"

"I'll need a Soul Candy to get his gigai over here without anyone suspecting anything." Isshin let out a deep sigh. "However, depending on his memories he may not need his own Soul Candy right away."

"_Then I'll lend you one of my Mod Souls. Do you want Noba or Kurodo? Oh! Even better yet, let's stick Ririn in his gigai temporarily! That would be rather amusing._" Urahara let out a sudden laugh.

"I'll laugh at your joke later on. Noba fits Kaien's personality the best Plus, he's got that portal ability of his that will come in handy." Isshin stood up. "I'm coming over to the shop now. How much do I owe you this time around?"

"_You aren't going to treat him until you get his gigai over there? I guess that is best as it might raise suspicions of one of your children if she sees you treating an invisible patient. As for how much you owe me, I've told you before not to worry about this. The Shiba family has always been good friends of ours._" The man then clicked his fan again. "_Plus... figuring out what is going on with Kaien-dono is going to be interesting._"

When Isshin hung up the phone and removed his white coat, the first thing he did was check in on Kaien as he lay there asleep on the bed. He then headed to the front door and back out into the rain. He found himself hurrying along, his feet splashing in the puddles. When he got to the shop, Ururu and Jinta were nowhere to be seen as Urahara had sent them away.

Isshin walked into the room and Urahara handed him Noba's plushy form in a bag to keep it from getting wet. He then turned to Noba, who was in a gigai for Kaien. "I would like you to get us as close to the house with your portal jumping ability as possible. I then need for you to pretend to be unconscious or with a head injury."

Noba nodded his head in agreement. Soon, they arrived near the house and Noba slumped onto Isshin's shoulder. The man walked to the clinic front door and proceeded to unlock it, before dragging Kaien's gigai and Noba inside the clinic. He then locked the door and moved away from the door. Once he was out of sight, Noba moved to the room Kaien was in and plopped down onto the bed.

Isshin caught the pill and removed Noba's stuffed animal form and put the pill inside. He grinned at the small stuffed animal. "Thank you."

"You need to get him out of the wet clothes." Noba pointed out. "Yourself as well."

"Yeah... I'll be back down with some fresh clothes, though I won't have any dry underwear for him." Isshin headed towards the kitchen and glanced around to see if any of the kids had arrived home from school. He then grabbed two sets of dry clothes from his dresser. "Sorry for not having clothes a bit big for you, but it will have to do.


	3. Feverish Night

**Breath of Life  
**_**Feverish Nights~**_

Isshin first pulled off Kaien's wet clothes and hung them over the curtain rod in the room. As he did this, he carefully examined his brother's body for any possibly injuries that may need to be treated. He then proceeded to dry the young male off, before pulling him over to the other bed and dressing him in dry clothing.

After pulling the sheets up to Kaien's chin, Isshin stripped the other bed of the sheets and headed to the laundry room with the wet clothing his brother had been wearing and his set of dry clothes. He tossed the clothing in and then changed himself, before starting up the wash so he could eventually put it into the dryer.

His footsteps couldn't be heard as he headed back to the room with some equipment. He sat down on the black stool and took out his stethoscope. Upon hearing that Kaien's heart beat and breathing were fine, he pulled out a thermometer. Upon hearing the beeping sound, he removed it from the mouth and flicked it a few times.

"Damn it." A frown spread across Isshin's face. "You have a fever, not to mention her shivering slightly. I wish you would wake up and talk to me."

The clock ticked away the minutes as Isshin placed an extra blanket over Kaien. Eventually Isshin glanced up and noted that it would be dinner time. He stood up and headed to the kitchen in order to get his dinner. Upon arriving he spoke to Yuzu.. "I'm going to be pulling an all nighter."

Ichigo game him aloof of surprise while Yuzu's lip stuck out in a pout."All right."

The eldest member of the Kurosaki family took out a can of broth and began to heat it up. As he stood at the stove, he happened to glance up in time to see Karin's look of indifference. Unlike the other two she was still staring at him, almost as if she were trying to figure out what he was up to. "Is something the matter Karin?" Isshin suddenly felt tired.

"Normally you use the clinic supplies and the kitchen in the clinic."

Isshin at first started at the small female, having forgotten that Karin tended to notice things he normally expected and hoped would go unnoticed. "_She's the one most likely to figure things out._" The man let out a deep sigh. "This patient is different."

Ichigo paused in eating his own meal. He looked right at his father, his eyes darkening. "How so?"

"I'll explain later."

"I've heard that one before," Ichigo said, referencing the fact Isshin had yet to explain why he happened to be a shinigami.

Isshin ignored the comment and went to place the broth on the tray. Yuzu gave the man a stern look. "Be sure to eat your food before it gets cold. Your patient isn't the only person who needs to eat."

"Thank you sweet heart. I'll try to remember that."

**M**

Secrets seemed to be what the Kurosaki family was built upon. The only person who didn't hve a secret was Yuzu and that was because it wasn't in her personality to keep things from people. Karin could still remember some of the stories her sister had told classmates in the past about _things_ that should have been kept within the family. It was possibly a good thing that she didn't know as much as her twin did.

Karin grabbed her walking shoes from her footlocker and slipped them onto her feat. As she was slopping the shoes on she suddenly felt an unfamiliar reiatsu hit her. She knew right away that the spiritual pressure wasn't a hollow, but she also knew it wasn't any of the shinigami she knew. She brushed it off as a non-hazard.

She began to walk home with her sister. Yuzu spoke up with a smile on her face, completely oblivious to the fact things she couldn't see were going on in Karakura Town. "I need to stop by the grocery store to pick up some groceries. Do you want to come with me?"

"I'm not playing soccer today, so that is fine." The dark hair twin and Yuzu walked a bit when it began to drizzle. Instinctively they pulled out their umbrellas just in time before the rain began to pour down. The two arrived as the small market store and Yuzu handed Karin a basket to carry. The two girls began to walk around the place.

Since Yuzu knew what she was doing and honestly didn't need Karin's help the dark haired twin focused on the stranger's reiatsu. She knew better then to get involved with levels that were to far above her own range. Thing were fine, until she felt the reiatsu suddenly change course and head towards her house, meaning they were likely to have a quest.

However, as soon as the reiatsu got to the house, it also quickly disappeared. If someone was visiting her brother they wouldn't be hiding their reiatsu. Her attention however became distracted when Yuzu spoke up. "Karin... should we have pork or beef for dinner. They happen to be the same price tonight."

"Beef of course. That goes without saying." Two dark eyes glanced back out at the rain pouring down outside until it was time to go. By the time they got home, the two girls were relatively dry except for their socks, which had become wet from the puddles they had to walk through. Karin went into the living room to watch television while Yuzu set about making dinner.

Isshin was the last person to arrive for dinner and the first words out of his mouth was that he was going to be pulling an all nighter. Karin watched her father carefully and noticed how serious he was, not to mention how unusually tense he was. Finally though, the man looked up and looked her straight in the eye. "Is something the matter Karin?"

The female teen then noted that he tended to get what he needed for his patients from the clinic. She was surprised to hear him say that the patient was different and remembered that she had felt spiritual pressure coming from the direction of the house. Karin frowned, knowing her father supposedly wasn't able to see spirits. She noted the fact her brother himself became suspicious of thier father.

After dinner she headed up to her room and got her homework done. She changed into her pajamas and got into bed, falling to sleep as if something heavy weighed upon her. She found herself moving through a forest with two others near her. The place wasn't familiar making Karin quite sure she was having one of those dreams.

Upon coming to a clearing she found herself looking at a Hollow and she could feel her anger rising quickly despite the fact she didn't understand the situation. The Hollow said something about a woman and how her life wasn't worth anything. The next thing Karin knew, she had drawn a blade and was attacking the Hollow.

What surprised her however was the fact the blade she held disappeared to the hilt. The next thing she knew, she was being attacked by worms and she could feel something getting inside of her and everything had a strange orange haze and she wasn't in control of her movements. "_No, I'm never in control of my movements in this dream, but this sensation of not being able to control the movements is different._"

She heard the words of the hollow in her head. "_I'm of course going to take you over your body and use it to kill the others who are here. Just like I did with that woman._"

Worms were coming out of her hands and her mouth and Karin felt like she would be physically ill. She found herself jumping up and down at a rate that wasn't normal even for a shinigami. She found herself suddenly attacking a man with a cloak similar to Toshiro's. The man had long white hair and was a tough fight, but she found herself suddenly escaping when he began to cough.

She found herself rushing through the forest, injured and as a monster, not at all in control of her mind as she moved. She found herself chasing someone, and then she suddenly felt a blade piercing her chest. For a few seconds she saw Rukia's face with a look of utter horror on her face before she slumped onto the shinigami's shoulder.

This was when Karin woke up in a cold sweat. She felt a nasty taste coming to her mouth and she clapped a hand to her mouth. Instinctively she got up despite the fact she couldn't feel any form of reiatsu. Something told her this may have to do with the patient her father was caring for. She slipped down the stairs and into the clinic.

After crossing a certain point in the hall she found herself being hit by the reiatsu she felt during the day. She found herself hurrying forward to the room she knew it was coming too. She turned around the doorway just in time to see her father trying to calm a young man down. Isshin glanced up, a startled look on his face. "Karin, what are you doing here?"

"I had a nightmare." The small female moved forward, her dark eyes looking at the man. She blinked a couple of times. The shape of the man's face reminded her of something. Her eyes blinked a couple of times once it clicked. "He looks like Ichigo. I mean, Ichigo and he would look like each other if they had the same hair color."

Isshin suddenly froze. "Karin, I kind of need you to go to bed."

"I can help you know." She then found herself blurting something aloud to her father due to her tiredness. "How does he know Rukia nee-chan? And who is he?"

"What do you mean, how does he know Rukia?" Her father choose to ignore her other question.

"I saw a dream... so I assumed." Karin frowned, suddenly realizing she had passed into territory she shouldn't have. "I had a really weird nightmare, so I am likely wrong. However, who is he?"

"As I said, I need you to go to bed. You have school in the morning. I promise I'll tell you who he is tomorrow." Isshin let go of the man's shoulders as he finally calmed down.

"Are you sure?"

"I think I don't have much choice." Isshin walked over to his daughter and placed a hand on her head. "Please try to get some sleep."

Karin let out a deep sigh and glanced around the room one last time. She saw that her father's dinner was sitting on the side table, only half eaten. Biting slightly on her lip, she spoke up. "All right." She then headed up the stairs and buried her head into her arms. "As if I can sleep after seeing that. That was a horrible dream."


	4. Awakening

**Breath of Life  
**_**Awakening~**_

As Isshin almost fell to the floor, he found himself suddenly jolting awake. The man tried rubbing the sleep from his eyes, wondering if things were just a dream. When he moved his hands away he found himself staring right at a familiar face. Except this time the young man's eyes were open wide and looking right at him. "Nii-sama?"

The doctor chocked back upon hearing his brother say this despite the fact it was in a rather weak voice. "Kaien?"

"Who?"

The eldest Kurosaki suddenly felt the color leave his face and his knuckles went white as he looked at the young man. "Kaien... you're Kaien of course. Don't you remember?"

"No." Kaien attempted to sit up, only to find himself suddenly falling back to the bed. He let out a sound of frustration and simply let his head hit the pillow.

"But you remember me, don't you?" Isshin's eyes twinkled with some hope.

"I..." The young man closed his eyes. "I don't remember you being this old. I remember being in a traditional Japanese home and you came home. I got up to greet you."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"No." Kaien continued to keep his eyes closed. "I'm sorry Nii-sama that I can't remember anything more, let alone how I came to lose my memories."

"There is nothing to be sorry Kaien. None of this was your fault." The doctor then made another comment. "And you should be calling me Isshin. You stopped calling me that..." The man suddenly paused. "Kaien... how old do you think you are?"

His brother lifted his left hand up and shook it slightly in a slow motion. "I would say I was physically between eleven to twelve years of age. I wasn't very big, but I wasn't a child anymore. Why do you ask?"

Isshin found himself swallowing hard. "Kaien, how old do you think you are?"

"You looked to be in your teen years and now you look to be in your late twenties, so that would make me in my early twenties."

The man found himself pinching the bridge of his nose. "_I __have__ a seventeen, almost eighteen year old son. I would have had to have had Ichigo when I was like, what? Eleven at the youngest?_"

"_Be patient with him Isshin. He doesn't know that you __have__ a teenaged son. You may want to break it to him easy._"

Opening his eyes, Isshin saw that Kaien was looking at him worriedly. "I said something wrong, didn't I?"

"Kaien, I have a teenaged son so saying I'm in my late twenties, while a nice gesture is not exactly accurate." Isshin continued to place pressure on the bridge of his nose.

"If you had him when you were sixteen it is still possible for you to be in your late twenties." His brother tried pushing himself up again.

Isshin stood up and placed hands on his shoulders, shaking his head as he did so. "How did you... wait. You think my son is just starting into his teenage years? That would be my daughters age range. My son... well, he's seventeen, almost eighteen. That would put me into my mid thirties at least would it not?"

Kain's face suddenly paled. "Nii-sama, what all have I missed out on?"

"I'm a little bothered by the fact you didn't think thirteen years of amnesia was a problem, but instead are more concerned about twenty years." Isshin closed his eyes. "_Twenty years is right, but Kaien would only have aged to his early twenties in Soul Society. I can't explain __that__ to him though."_

"My early thirties." Kaien raised a hand above his head on the pillow. "Nii-sama... could I be left alone for a bit. I need to think."

"First, stay out of trouble and in this room for the day resting. I've got a clinic to run, so I'll be able to easily check in on you to see how you're doing. Second, _don't_ call me Nii-sama. If my son hears you saying that he's not the type to let you live it down. You aren't eleven to twelve years of age. Speaking of which, third... please act like an adult as much as possible. I'm hoping the amnesia is just your memories."

Isshin stood up and stretched. He glanced out the window of the room. "It's early, so Yuzu isn't up yet. I'll go ahead and make us some breakfast. What would you like to eat?" Silence greeted his ears. "Or are you going to refuse to eat because you're in a depressed mood. I don't need that, all right. I don't want you getting sick."

"Understood."

After picking up his trey of food, the man headed into the kitchen of the house, shaking his head as he did so. He then went about getting the ingredients for making ohagi. Isshin was packing the bean paste around the rice when Yuzu came down. "Daddy, what are you doing?"

"I'm making myself and our patient some breakfast." The man let out a chuckle as he watched Yuzu wipe the sleep from her eyes.

Her eyes then went wide upon seeing what he had made. "Ohagi? Ohagi for breakfast?"

"I told you last night, this patient is different Yuzu. I need to get him to eat, so I'm not taking any chances." Isshin smiled.

The girl walked over to the sink, only to suddenly glare at her father. "You didn't eat all of your dinner!"

"Yuzu... I told you, I had an all nighter. I love eating your cooking, so it isn't as if I wasn't wanting to eat it." He then picked up the two plates and headed into the clinic. He first went to his desk and put on his jacket before he walked into Kaien's room and plopped one of the plates onto the table. "Eat up."

His brother didn't at first move, but then turned to look at the food. "Ohagi?"

"Yeah... ohagi." Isshin sat down on the stool as he bit down on his first ball.

Kaien at first struggled to sit up, but the enticement of the ohagi got him to wriggle into a position so he could eat it. Despite the fact he found the strength to sit up, eating it was slow business. "This is really good Isshin."

"I'm glad you like it." The man continued to munch on the food. "Do you remember anything?"

"I didn't get any memories back." Kaien swallowed another bite. He then paused. "Are you actually worried that I _forgot_ what my favorite food was? I don't _remember_ liking it, but I do know it is my favorite."

"I was just checking Kaien. This means it is just memories that your missing, which is a good thing." Isshin paused from eating his food. "What is it?"

"Kurosaki... Doctor Kurosaki." Kaien read off Isshin's name tag. "So this means my full name is Kurosaki Kaien?"

A piece of the ohagi went down the wrong tube for the older of the two brothers. Isshin blinked a couple of times. "Um... yeah. Your last name is Kurosaki."

Isshin finished his food and put his plate under Kaien's. "Look, I need to go make some phone calls before I open up the clinic, why don't you sit tight."

"I don't have the energy to move nii-sama, so don't worry about it."

The former shinigami shook his head. "_He's already slipped back into calling me Nii-sama, of all things._"

"_He feels comfortable calling you that rather then by your first name. It is honestly more personal then simply using your name._"

"_Attaching sama to the brother part? I think that is my biggest problem because nobody calls their brothers and sisters nii-sama or nee-sama anymore._" Isshin grabbed the phone on his desk and dialed up Urahara. "I've got another problem."

"_And what would that be?_"

"Kaien saw my name tag and is under the impression that he is a Kurosaki, _not_ a Shiba. He doesn't have any memories other then one of me coming home when he was younger. He didn't even remember his name, just that I was his brother."

"_He's got it bad._" The two then discussed the details of Kaien's health.


	5. An Uncle

**Breath of Life  
**_**An Uncle~**_

The alarm went off in the twins room, causing Karin to let out a groan. While she had finally managed to fall asleep the night before she happened to find herself unable to sleep the night before. She found herself letting out a deep sigh before standing up and getting dressed in her middle school uniform. She then headed down the stairs in time to see Yuzu cooking breakfast. "Where's dad?"

"He's still taking care of the patient he brought in yesterday." Her sister shook her cooking utensil. "Can you believe that he made ohagi for breakfast?"

"He made that for breakfast?" Karin let out a deep sigh before pushing her chair back in. "I'm going to go and see how he is doing."

The small female slipped into the clinic and found her father unlocking the clinic. The man glanced up, blinking a couple of times. "Good morning Karin."

"You look like you don't want to see me." The girl tilted her head to the side so she could glance around him to see the room the stranger was in. "You did promise that you would explain who that person was. Who is he?"

"I did make that promise." Isshin shook his head in frustration. "Would you tell me when your brother is up and eating his breakfast. I need to talk to all three of you."

"Are you sure that you want to talk to all three of us at the same time?" Karin tried pushing her father for answers.

"Just go eat your breakfast!" The man waved his hand towards the door to the house. He then headed into his office to take care of some paperwork.

The small female let out a deep sigh and walked back towards the room. She found herself peeking around the corner at the dark haired man. He had his arms folded under his head and he was resting. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be paying her any mind. She couldn't help but notice how much Ichigo and the stranger looked like each other.

Suddenly, the man opened one eye and looked right at her, almost as if he had known she was there the whole time. Karin found herself startling and suddenly hurrying back towards the house. She found herself sitting down in the chair. Yuzu placed a plate of food in front of her, only to have her sister not touch the food.

A few minutes later, her brother came down the stairs. He grabbed his plate of food and dug in. "Hey, you two are ready for school, right?"

Karin simply continued to pick at her food, not eating a single bite. Yuzu walked over to stand next to her. "Are you all right Karin? You wouldn't happen to be having boy problems?"

"Boy problems? I don't have boy problems. They know that they don't want to get on my bad side." The dark haired twin let out a deep breath. She took the time to glance up at her brother, only to have her head dart down when she remembered that the stranger and her brother looked like each other. She continued to stir her food.

Isshin came in. "The three of you are possibly wondering who the stranger in the clinic happens to be."

"Not really." Ichigo shoveled his food into his mouth and ignored his father.

"I'm interested." Yuzu spoke up. "And you seemed interested the night before."

"Again, not really. There are certain things I'd rather _not_ be explained." The substitute shinigami put food in his mouth.

"Actually, it is rather important that you three know who this person is. We're also need to lay down some ground rules while this guest is staying with us." Isshin sat down in a chair. "This person happens to be my brother."

Ichigo suddenly found himself coughing on his food. He pounded a fist against his chest. "Hold on... if he is your brother, then that means he's a..." The orange haired teen took a drink to clear his throat. "You wouldn't happen to be pulling some sort of sick joke on us."

"So that is where Ichigo gets his good looks from." Karin blurted out, the stress getting to her. She glanced first at her father, then her brother and then back again. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that something was being kept from him.

"You mean Ichi-nii looks like our uncle?" A smile spread across Yuzu's face.

"Yeah, except his coloring is like dad and mine while Ichi-nii happens to have mom's coloring." Karin spoke up.

"Since he's our uncle I should take him some breakfast." The small female started towards the kitchen, only to find her arm grabbed by Isshin.

"I would appreciate it Yuzu if the three of you would let him rest as much as he needs to before you meet him. I would also appreciate that there be no guests over for awhile." Isshin let go of her arm, only to have her turn and look at him with a pout on her face.

Karin suddenly found herself standing up, slamming her hands onto the table. "Hold it! I had planned on having one of my friends come over and visit. He hasn't been over since... well, he hasn't been over for awhile and I haven't seen him in awhile."

Her father took a deep breath and shook his head. "I mean it when I say that you aren't to have any quests."

"I'm guessing this includes Rukia?"

"Es... no, not even Rukia." Isshin glanced down at his hands. "It is really important that we don't have any guests over."

"But Rukia-nee-chan is family!" Yuzu shook her head.

"Ignore him Yuzu. He has a reason for doing this." Ichigo began to pick at his food.

Karin however found herself starring at her father, remembering the dream she had the night before. Rukia had been in the dream and she was quite sure that her father had almost said the word especially. Her brother tapped her shoulder and then pointed at her food and muttered something about her being late for school.

However, Isshin had something else to say. "I would also appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that your uncle is here, staying with us."

"Why not?" Yuzu folded her arms across her chest.

"It's fine Yuzu. Dad doesn't bother to ever explain things to anyone." Ichigo muttered through a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, but this is rather strange."

"Well, your uncle has amnesia and I'm wanting him to remember things on his own. I don't want anyone interrupting this process." Isshin stated, letting out a deep sigh. "I've got to get back to the clinic. You three have a good day at school."

"Yeah..." Karin continued to pick at her food. She watched as her father disappeared back into the clinic.

"So, who were you going to have over today?" Ichigo asked.

"It doesn't matter, he can't come over. He'll have to stay somewhere else when he comes."

Her brother suddenly pointed a fork at her. "How do you know that he would be over today when you haven't had contact with him for what, since _that_ happened to me."

"Just but out Ichi-nii." Karin stated as she stood up and stormed out of the house to head to school.


	6. Blocked

**Breath of Life  
**_**Blocked~**_

The members of research and development hurried around trying to locate Mayuri's escaped experiment. Akon glanced over a data sheet from the living world. "There is record of a gate opening up in the living world, but whoever went through it hid their reiatsu. However, they released their reiatsu near the gate shortly afterwords. The reiatsu then disappeared somewhere near the substitute shinigami's home."

Mayuri paced back and forth muttering to himself. "I can't believe my experiment escaped. I removed the ability to have free will, so he shouldn't have run off like he did." The man stopped in his tracks suddenly and glanced up. "What do you mean the reiatsu disappeared around the substitute shinigami's home?"

"Just what I said." Akon stated.

"You mean to tell me that the subject could very well be under the protection of the substitute soul reaper?" The man felt his eye suddenly twitch.

"It's not as if the substitute shinigami knows who the subject happens to be." Hiyosu spoke up.

"Who is the subject?" Rin blinked a couple of times in confusion, only to have Mayuri glare at him. He suddenly found himself glancing down.

"The subject doesn't _have _a name."

"But..."

Akon shook his head at Hiyosu. "We aren't to confuse the subject with that person, they are two different people. Just like Kurotsuchi Nemu is not the taicho."

The green faced division member leaned close. "He's going to get us in trouble again."

"I'm not going to argue with him. All we can do is counter him with more paperwork." Akon whispered.

"Are you acting on your own again Akon?" Mayuri glared at the dark haired assistant.

"No, I'm not." The man moved towards some paperwork just as a small figure came to the door way.

"What's going on?" The small taicho of the tenth division spoke up, the corner of his mouth twisting up. His bright teal eyes darted around as if he suspected something was up.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Mayuri snapped his words out.

"Hitsugaya Taicho is here because he's here for a limiter so he can head to the living world." Akon spoke up as he skimmed the list.

"What are you going to the world of the living for?" Mayuri snapped the words out. "Captains aren't supposed to be going to the world of the living that often. Yet you've been going a lot more often compared to how you used to go."

"The reason I'm going to the living world isn't any of your business. Plus, I've already filled out the necessary paperwork and it has been approved." Two bright teal eyes glared at the man and the small taicho's lips curled up as he narrowed his eyes in disgust.

"Well, I'm revoking the approval." Mayuri blurted out.

"You can't do that!" Toshiro's small hands twisted up into fists.

"Want to try me?" The twelfth division taicho lowered his face so it was right in front of the small taicho's. "I'll remind you that my division is in charge of the passage way between our world and the world of the living."

One small hand reached up to plug a small nose. "You're breath stinks. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't breathe right in my face."

"You are a rude little brat. This doesn't change the fact you can't go through unless you have permission to go through and going through without said permission is illegal." Mayuri poked the small taicho in the chest while the boy glared at him.

"I'm going to speak to Yamamotto about this. You can't just revoke the approval I got like that." Toshiro folded his arms across his chest.

"So you're going to be a tattletale?" The man continued to poke the small taicho's ego.

"Why is it adults have to be so childish?" Two bright teal eyes glared at the man.

"Well I am heading over to the head captain's office right now." Mayuri grabbed an entire file and headed away.

Toshiro glared about him. "Hold on! What about the fact I am supposed to be heading to the living world? Are you going to ignore me? You can't just veto the approval like that."

"I can and I will." Mayuri continued. "Plus, you know full well that you won't be able to get a limiter unless I say you can."

Two small feet followed behind the captain of the twelfth division and the man could feel the boy's eyes glaring into his back. He arrived at the first division and asked the fukutaicho to see the captain. The tenth division captain followed close on his heals. The twelfth division taicho simply remained quite for a bit, then turned his head towards the child taicho. "Don't you have something to do first?"

"I'm simply waiting for you to stop this nonsense about revoking the approval I received to go to the living world. I don't have all day to wait as that means less time I'm allowed to stay in the living world."

"I'm going to ask why you revoked Hitsugaya Taicho's approval. I remember personally approving it."

"In case it has escaped the notice of the head taicho, the taicho of the tenth division has been going to the living world a bit more often then he should ever since the events of the Winter War. I asked what kept him going as often as he has and he refused to answer." Mayuri glared at Toshiro.

"I told you it was none of your business."

"Is it something you can't discuss Hitsugaya Taicho?" Yamamotto raised an eyebrow.

"I..." The small taicho suddenly clamped his mouth shut and his cheeks suddenly turned red. "I'm _not_ doing anything wrong."

"I say otherwise." Mayuri marched over to Yamamotto's desk and dropped a file onto his desk. "If you'll look at that you'll find out _exactly _what the small taicho has been up to."

"Do you have anything to say about this?" The head taicho looked straight at Toshiro.

The boy fidgeted and glanced to the side. "I told you... I'm _not_ doing anything wrong."

"If you weren't doing anything wrong you could just speak up." Mayuri rubbed his fingers together due to boredom. "I have better things to do."

"It seems like you're up to something." Toshiro's eyes glared right at the man.

"What do you mean I'm up to something?"

"You haven't ever brought this up before and restricting my movements means there is something in the living world you don't want a captain to be finding out about."

"That is an accusation you can't back up." Mayuri snapped the words out.

Yamamotto then spoke up. "Hitsugaya, I am afraid you'll have to cancel your leave to the living world." The man watched as the small taicho gave him a rather hurt look. "You can go _after_ I've arranged for someone to head to the living world to take a look around. In case it is an emergency, it is best that we not send a captain as even with a limiter it can be problematic."

"I can easily send someone from my own division."

"No... I think I'll let Hitsugaya Taicho pick the person who will be heading to the world of the living. Now, I am quite sure the two of you have other things you could be doing."

The two taicho left, both glaring at each other as they left the office.


	7. Meeting Uncle

**Breath of Life  
**_**Meeting Uncle~**_

When the bell ran a light drizzle fell outside. The Kurosai twins began walking home when Karin spoke up. "Let's stop by Urahara's shop on the way home."

"I want to go home and see how Uncle is doing." Yuzu's lip pouted out.

"You don't want to pick up any candy for yourself?" The dark haired twin narrowed her eyes as her other puffed out her cheeks. "You could pick up something for uncle."

Yuzu blinked a couple of times. "I wonder what uncle would like."

The set of twins started towards the exit, stopping a few times to speak with some of Yuzu's friends. Karin found herself interrupting her sister once the brown haired twin almost mentioned their uncle. Upon arriving at the shop the two girls found themselves greeted by the obnoxious red head. "Yuzu, you've come to buy some sweets again."

Karin glanced at Ururu and tilted her head for some help. The high school student nodded her head and started over. Yuzu opened her mouth to say something, but Ururu took her hand. "I want to show you something."

Jinta glared at the dark haired twin. Urahrah however spoke up. "I need someone to sweep and reorganize the back room." Karin and the man watched as the red head let out a deep sigh before slipping out of the room. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Is that man staying in my house really my uncle?"

A clicking sound was heard as Urahara opened his fan. "Why would I know anything about the man in your house. If it isn't shinigami business, then..."

"I know he is a shingiami. I also know Rukia-nee knows him. I also know he and Ichigo look a lot alike. I just want to know if I should e treating him as family or if my dad was brought a complete stranger into the house and is passing him off as family."

"That man is your uncle. You do understand I can't tell you much more and your father has a reason for keeping things to himself."

Karin glanced at the ground. "I need to make a phone call."

"I can't let you don anything that will jeopardize the safety of your family. The safety of your brother is another story." Urahara grabbed a lollipop and unwrapped it to put into his mouth."

"I promised Toshiro that he could stay with us now that Ichi-nii is back to normal." She then let out a deep breath. "Plus, if I told him he would just let himself be dragged into this mess. He likes playing hero a little to much for his own good."

"Hitsugaya Taicho is very particular about whom he chooses to go out of his way to protect." Urahara walked over to his phone and dialed a number before handing it over to Karin."

"_Hello, this is Hitsugaya Taicho speaking._"

"Toshiro... its Karin."

"_Kurosaki?_? A lull of silence followed the sound of surprise.

"I need to..."

"_If you're wanting to know why I'm not there in the world of the living. I'm not going to be able to make it. I'll need to reschedule. Hopefully it will be a couple of days, but it depends on how fast I can get approval._"

"You weren't going to tell me?"

"_I don't exactly have a way to contact you. I take it you're calling from Urahara's shop._"

"Yes. It's all right if you don't come for awhile. The reason I was calling was actually because we have a family member visiting and you won't be able to stay with us."

"_I'm guessing either said family member can see shinigami or explaining why I was invited at the same time as them would be awkward or you don't have room to..._"

"Toshiro, it's something like that. You don't need to guess." Karin let out a deep sigh. "Can you tell me why you had to cancel your trip?"

"_That stupid Kurotsuchi. He's hiding something that he doesn't want another captain find out out about. He used the fact its odd for a captain to be visiting the world of the living like I have."_

"But you visiting my brother shouldn't be a problem._"_

"_Except I'm not visiting him, I'm visiting you._"

"Toshiro... is being friends with me against some sort of regulation?"

"_No. If they knew I'd actually made a friend, particularly one my physical age, they would be ecstatic._"

"If its such a good thing then what is the problem?"

"_I haven't been upfront about why I've been going to the world of the living. I've left the whole thing ambiguous."_

"You do realize you've already said that Toshiro. I'm asking why you are not saying that you are visiting me despite the fact you've said there is no problem with you doing so."

A silence came to her over the phone. Finally Toshiro spoke up, his voice straining. "_Do I __really__ have to say __what__ the problem is?_"

"I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that I am a girl."

"_Kurosaki! I'm __not__ hanging out with you because I have a crush on you. I'm hanging out with you because I honestly want to be friends with you._" The words came out of his mouth, straining at strange points, indicating he was upset. He also spoke them in a quite manner.

Karin found herself blinking a couple of times. She felt the corner of her mouth suddenly twitch up. "You know... you could _just_ tell them that. I think it is a silly reason to have gotten your time in the living world revoked. This even holds true if you _did _have a crush on me."

"_Not so loud!_" Toshiro spoke louder. "_I know that you're having to call from Urahara's place! I'm at least..._" There was a pause before he continued. "_At least no one is listening in on this conversation._"

"Just tell who ever you need to tell the truth and you'll likely be coming here soon."

"_It's not that simple. I pointed out the fact Kurotsuchi is up to something in front of the head taicho. He's told me to send someone to the living world to figure out what is going on and until we figure out what is going on there is small chance that I'll be able to come. In other words there is even more protocol to go through and more red tape.. that is the correct term for it._"

"You need to calm down. Seriously, I'll see you in a week or two." Karin paused for a few minutes. When she spoke up her own voice strained with worry. "_What_ do you mean Kurotsuchi is up to something?"

"_Uhh..._"

"Toshiro!"

The taicho of the tenth let out a deep sigh. "_That man is a mad scientist. There is no telling what he could have been up to. So I guess I can warn you to be extra careful._"

Karin heard a bit of cursing coming from his end. "Toshiro, is something the matter."

There was a bit of silence as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have. "_I'm... just thinking about who I should send. I'll likely be sending Kuchiki... the fukutaicho that is._"

The black haired twin let out a laugh. "What do you mean by that? Isn't there just Rukia-nee?"

"_Kuchiki is the one I would be sending. She's now the fukutaicho of the thirteenth division. I wouldn't be sending Kuchiki though. He's the taicho of the sixth division and her dead sister's..._" Toshiro paused, listening to her laugh. "_You know... this really isn't funny._"

"You need to learn to be a little more informal when using people's names. For example, you know myself and my brother. Would you call both of us Kurosaki? And then there is my sister Yuzu and my dad, not to mention my uncle."

"_I see... no I don't see. I don't see how that is confusing at all. That's because there is you Kurosaki, and then..._"

"Toshiro... it gets confusing for everyone else." She twisted the cord around her fingers. "I had better let you go. Oh!"

The memory of her uncle passed through her head and she saw Rukia's face. Toshiro spoke up. "_Something the matter?_"

"You may want to tell Rukia-nee that she'll need to stay with Orihime-chan."

"_Sure... I'll do that._"

Karin put down the phone and let out a deep sigh. She then turned to Urahara who was looking at her with an amused look on her face. "What?"

"Nothing!" The man's smile simply widened just as Yuzu came around the corner.

When her sister was done picking out a gift for their uncle to welcome him to the household they headed back. Instead of heading through the front door, they instead headed through the clinic. Isshin wasn't within view. Yuzu glanced around. "I wonder where dad is. I want to ask him what room uncle is in."

"I know which room oji-san is in." Karin let out a deep sigh and her sister followed her into the other room. When they got to the room they found the man sitting up with his eyes closed. When they came into the room, his eyes slowly opened and he turned his head to look at the two girls. At first he simply looked at them, but when his eyes fell on Karin they suddenly widened.

The dark haired female felt a sudden flare in the man's reiatsu. While it was none threatening it did catch her breath for a few seconds. She watched as the man clapped a hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. She turned to look at Yuzu, only to find her eyes going wide. Her twin was staring at the man, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushing up.

Yuzu walked over holding the treat she had bought. "Umm... oji-san!" The man waved his hand towards the door, a sign that he wished to be left alone. The brown haired twin ignored the sign. "Umm... I'm Yuzu-chan and this is Karin-chan. It is nice to meet you. I brought you a welcome to the family gift."

"Gomenasai Yuzu-chan." The man opened one eye to look at her twin. "I have a really bad headache right now. I think my head was trying to remember something, but it didn't come. Can I talk to the two of you later?"

"I'll... I'll just leave it on the table then." Yuzu's voice strained with disappointment and Karin watched as her twin brushed past her.


	8. Enter Rukia

**Breath of Life  
**_**Enter Rukia~**_

The dark haired twin closed the door, frowning as she did so. "_I can't exactly blame uncle for his behavior as he's trying to remember who he is and there is a high chance he has some kind of connection to the shinigami. Which... if uncle really is blood related to us means we have some sort of connection to the shinigami, which really isn't surprising._"

She followed behind her sister and watched as she walked up the stairs towards their room. Karin followed with the intention of doing her homework, only to see her sister flop onto her head and burry her face into a pillow. The dark haired female let out a deep sigh. "You know Yuzu, Uncle wasn't trying to be mean. He likely doesn't think he'll be good company. And anyways, father would be upset with us if we didn't let him rest."

When she received no answer from her sister, she let out a deep sigh and took her school bag to her brother's room. When she opened the door, she found her brother sitting at his desk working on his homework. She crept into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed watching him as he remained studious in what he was doing. Finally she spoke up, letting out a deep breath. "Ichi-nii... about uncle."

"I haven't met him yet." The boy stated as he continued working with his homework.

"I think he is a shinigami." Karin watched as her brother suddenly looked up at her, only to stare at her with wide brown eyes.

Ichigo then let out a deep breath. "I know that you know about the shinigami, but I don't understand where you got the idea that uncle was a shinigami from."

"I think he knows Rukia-nee." The girl continued to press the subject, watching as her brother gave her a confused look.

"Karin..." Ichigo's Adam's apple bobbed down before he took a deep breath. "It is best to say that I don't understand how you came to the conclusion that he knows her."

"Last night, when I went down to the clinic and saw uncle, what woke me up was a dream. Rukia-nee was in it." Karin looked at her brother, her mouth twisted up into a scowl. She finally took her own deep breath before glancing away. "I know that you and father are hiding something from me."

It was her brother's turn then to look away. "I am not sure I should be telling you this, but our father used to be a captain level shinigami. That's all I actually know as he hasn't exactly been open to revealing more about himself and his ties to Soul Society. He tends to hide from everyone when they come, so the better question is what is dad hiding."

The small female teen frowned as she looked at the ground. She was then surprised to hear her brother speak up. "Are you sure that you saw Rukia in the dream of all people?"

Karin glanced up. "Yeah. I think dad knows uncle knows Rukia and that's why he said we were especially not allowed to have her come over. It may either trigger a memory for uncle or he thinks it will place Rukia-nee into a position she could get in serious trouble with. Am I right?"

"I honestly don't know. I guess I need to meet our uncle." Ichigo frowned at her. "Do I really look like him but with different coloration?"

**M**

Toshiro continued to file paper work in his office when a small figure came into the room. "You wished to see me Hitsugaya Taicho?"

The small taicho glanced up to see Rukia Kuchiki looking right at him from the door way. "Hello Kuchiki. If you'll come in and close the door I'll feel you in on the details as I far as I personally know. You'll be reporting in to me."

The small female came forward and he was able to continue. "Apparently Mayuri has been up to something and this has in fact effected the living world in some manner that we don't know about. I was tasked with sending someone to the living world to investigate as I've been blocked from going until I can get my trip to the world of the living approved again."

"I'm a bit confused." A frown spread across the females face.

"By what?"

"Apparently you had permission to go to the living world and could have looked into this yourself. Actually, you seem interested in looking into the matter."

"I'm interested in looking into the matter as soon as possible because Mayuri is the one who got the permissions I had revoked so I... who happen to be a captain, wouldn't find out what he has been up to. I am now stuck being more frank about why I've been making the trips to the world of the living that I do to the head captain so that I can get another trip approved."

"So you're irritated that your schedule ended up messed up."

Toshiro paused what he was doing, frowning as he did so. "I happen to be friends with one of Kurosaki's sisters and I had made a promise I was unable to keep and I had to apologize for this." He watched as the female suddenly startled. "You are surprised at this news?"

"Well..."

"Out with it Kuchiki."

"You're not one to make friends with others your age."

The boy let out a deep breath. "I don't get much chance to hang out with those who are my age and most of those who are my age group aren't like that. So to be honest I'm surprised that I was able to make a friend. And _don't_ tell Matsumoto. She thinks my interest in Kurosaki is more then friendship and her teasing is a pain to deal with. There is one more thing, something I found out from Kurosaki."

"Which one?"

"Kurosaki's sister, the dark haired one that I happen to be friends with. She says you'll need to stay with Inoue Orihime as they have a guest at their house."

"Sure thing." Rukia then paused. "And sir?"

"Yes..."

"You really should learn to refer to people by titles other then their family name. It rather gets confusing."


	9. Connecting with Family

**Breath of Life  
**_**Connecting with Family~**_

Kaien sat in the bed staring at the wall in front of him in an attempt to remember the memory that Karin showing up almost triggered, but found that it simply wasn't coming. He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose, only to find himself opening his eyes again as he heard a glass of water being set down on the table next to his.

"Nii-sama?" The man looked right at the man.

"I see that Yuzu and Karin came to see you." Isshin stated before sitting down on a chair next to the bed. He nodded his head at the candies that were left on the table.

"The meeting didn't go well. Seeing one of the girls triggered a memory, but it just didn't come." Kaien continued to pinch his nose.

"Well, I had the feeling you weren't feeling well because your rieatsu fluctuated. I brought you some medicine that should take care of the headache." Isshin folded his arms across his chest. "It would actually be good for you if got up and moved around, though it would be best to stay in the house while you can't control your own rieatsu."

"What is this rieatsu you're talking about?" The other man frowned at Isshin, his eyes reflecting a level of worry that was almost fearful.

"Don't worry about it. You'll remember when you remember. Until then stay in the clinic or the house and you'll be fine." Isshin got up to head to the door. "I need to go and check on my other patients. I wont be closing until dinner time so you're going to be on your own for figuring out something to entertain yourself."

Kaien took the medicine before lying back down. Soon the medicine took effect and he got up and headed to the house area. He opened the door and stepped into the room in time to see the dark haired twin speaking with a young man with orange hair. The teen was the first to speak up. "So what exactly are we going to do for dinner?"

"I don't know. Normally Yuzu would be cooking dinner right about now."

"I could try cooking something." The man watched as the other two suddenly turned to look at him with rather shocked looks on their faces.

"Oji-san."

The orange haired teen remained silent for a few minutes before speaking up. "They're right. I do look like you except with different coloring." He then blinked a couple of times. "Do you know how to use any of the stuff in the kitchen?"

Kaien glanced over at the stove and other items. "I will if someone tells me how to turn them on I think."

"Um... sure." Karen got up and walked over to the stove and began to show him how to use the oven and then the other devices in the kitchen before showing him the cookbooks that Yuzu had gathered.

The dark haired man began examining the contents of the refrigerator. "Thank you Kukaku. Is there anything the two of you want for dinner?"

His nephew suddenly set the paper down with a loud thump from where he was sitting and turned his head to look at Kaien from an odd angle. "Kukaku?"

"Did I say anything wrong?" The man's dark eyes looked at the two while his face twisted up in confusion.

"My name isn't Kukaku. It's Karen." The small female went and sat down next to her brother. "Who is she though?"

"Kukaku?" Kaien frowned as he closed the refrigerator and headed over to the cookbooks. "I don't know. As for what you guys would like to eat?"

"I'm fine with whatever you cook." Karen suddenly whispered something into Ichigo's ear only for the older teen to wave her off. "I'll tell you later."

The dark haired female turned to the older man. "I'm fine with whatever you cook oji-san."

"I think I'll make this as I know I have the ingredients for this meal." The man then went to work while the dark haired preteen turned on the television. Whatever show she was watching helped to pass the time as the meal cooked. Eventually the dinner was almost finished. "Karen and... your brother, could you set the table for dinner please?"

The orange haired teen stood up while Karen stared at her uncle in disbelief. "It's Ichigo."

"Strawberry?" Kaien had a confused look on his face.

"Not strawberry. Dad says it means one who protects." The teen stated. "Come on Karen and help me."

The small female moved to help her brother with the dishes. The man let out a sigh. "That is a relief. That sounds more like a name my brother would give one of his kids."

"Oh, believe me. A lot of other people make the assumption that my name means _that_." Ichigo commented as he got to work setting things on the table.

"That's funny... you also like puns." Karen laughed. "Last time I checked you _really_ like the number fifteen."

"I guess he gets that from his father."

"Me and pops are nothing alike," the orange haired teen grumbled.

"Sure." Kaien began to bring the dishes over to the table. "I guess now would be a good time to let your father and sister know that dinner is ready."

"I'll go and get..." Karen headed over to the stairs only to pause. "Yuzu, you're up."

"Did you guys order dinner? I was about to come down and make something." The female blinked a couple of times.

The corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched as soon as he saw the look on the brown haired twin's face. "Umm... Yuzu. You don't need to be getting mad at us."

"I wanted to make something for oji-chan!" The small female suddenly spoke up in a lecturing tone.

Kaien's face twisted up in confusion. "I'm sorry Yuzu-chan. I went ahead and cooked dinner."

The next thing he knew the small female was looking at him with wide eyes and her lip trembling. The next thing everyone knew tears were rolling down her cheeks at a fast pace. "But I wanted to cook dinner for oji-san!"

As if on cue Isshin came in. "Yuzu, whatever happened?"

His brother spoke up as the corner of his mouth twitched. "I'm sorry nii-sama, but I didn't expect this to happen."

"What exactly _did_ you do to get this kind of reaction?" The man glared daggers at him.

"Apparently I didn't know that making dinner for everyone would cause this much of a problem." Kaien felt the corner of his mouth continue to twitch. "I am _really_ sorry."

The next thing he knew made him thankful that the medicine he had taken was still in effect. Isshin turned to Yuzu and tried to hug the girl. "Yuzu-chan! Come to papa bear! He'll make things all better."

"As if!" Karen launched a hefty kick into the man's chin and the next thing Kaien knew Isshin was running over to what must have been a memorial for his wife as the man began to sob to her.

Kaien carefully walked over so that he could see what he had missed since coming into the room, only to find his mouth twitching even more. "Nii-sama..."

Karen noticed his reaction and pulled out a chair for the man to sit down in. The younger of the dark haired male buried his face in the palm of his hands. Ichigo let out a deep breath before sitting down. "Don't worry, its always like this."

A clicking sound was heard as Ichigo began to dish up food onto his plate and then the plates of the others. He paused when he heard his uncle speak up again. "The nii-sama I know was never like this."

His dark haired niece paused from eating her food. "How do you really know that? Last time I checked your memories were missing, so there could have been times where your brother wasn't prefect. The man I know is this major goofball all the time."

"No... something tells me this isn't normal for him." Kaien stated.

"You should eat it up." Ichigo piped up. "I think its his way for making up for the fact mom's not around. It's now become a bad habit."


	10. Adding to the Unease

**Breath of Life  
**_**Adding to the Unease~**_

The small female shinigami stepped through the door into Urahara's shop. The man glanced up while moving a lollipop in his mouth. "Have you been told that you're not to stay at the Kurosaki household?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho said something about how they had a guest staying at their place." The small female glanced around at the racks of candy, her mouth twisting up as she examined them. "No... this won't do at all."

"What are you thinking about Rukia?" The man pulled the lollipop out of his mouth with a loud popping sound.

"I was thinking of getting a gift for the guest." The small female folded her arms. "But to be honest, candy isn't my first choice."

"Let me guess." The man held the lollipop towards her. "You want something chappy themed?"

"Of course!" Rukia brightened up. "You wouldn't happen to have anything would you?"

"No..." The man then tugged on his hat. "Rukia, if the Kurosaki family happens to have a family member visiting don't you think it is a bit rude to be intruding on them."

"That's why I need the gift." The female folded her arms. "I can find it else where if need be."

"But you're not staying with them, so you needn't worry about intruding." The man put his candy back into his mouth.

"I don't want to intrude, but I'm likely going to need to ask Ichigo for help. That means I'm going to have to go to his house at some point in time." The female continued to look at the stuff. "I guess I'll be just picking up my gigai before heading to one of the local stores. It's funny... you say the quest is a relative of Ichigo. He's never really talked about other family members. Is being able to see us that much of a burden in regards to the rest of his family?"

"Well, you know where the gigai is, so you should go ahead and get it." He narrowed his eyes at her, folding his arms across his chest. When Rukia finally left he got up and went to the phone. "Hello... can I speak to Kurosaki Isshin? No, no... I'm not a sales person. Is this..." The phone clicked off. "...Kaien-dono. Well, that wasn't good. Of course he knows how to use a phone because he's used a Soul Phone before."

**M**

When dinner was finished Kaien went to work washing the dishes from the table. As he scooped up the dishes and carried them over Yuzu frowned at him. He glanced up at her pouting face. "Please tell me that you aren't going to cry again. I'm not understanding why you are getting mad at me like this."

The phone suddenly rang and he picked up the phone just as Ichigo raised an eyebrow in surprise. "This is the Kurosaki residence. How may I help you?" There was a pause. "Are you a sales person? If so I am going to hang up."

"Who was that?" Ichigo turned slightly in the wooden chair and caused it to creak.

"A sales person." The man then set about cleaning the dishes while Yuzu pulled a stool over.

"I can at least dry, right?" The girl continued to pout as she stood there waiting for the first dish to be washed.

"I don't see why not." Kaien handed her the dish, only to find himself getting an earful of bubbling speech, which was the exact opposite of what she was before. "Your father headed off to the clinic rather fast."

"Today's the day he does all the paperwork." Karen went and sat down on the couch. "So, Uncle Kaien, what do you like doing for fun?"

The man frowned as he thought of the question. "For some strange reason I think I used to teach a boy's soccer team. I am not sure why."

Ichigo gave Kaien an utter look of confusion before going back to burying his face into the newspaper. "Sure you did."

"That's mean Ichi-nii!" Yuzu muttered.

There came a knocking at the door and the orange haired teen went to the door to see who it was. The sound of the boy's voice hit a pitch a teenagers voice shouldn't normally hit. "Rukia? What are you doing here?"

The plate that was in Kaien's hand suddenly slipped out of his grip and slipped to the ground shattering as he stared wide eyes at the back of the sink. Karen got up from the couch and began to tug on her uncle's sleeve towards the clinic. This only served to jar him out of the daze he was in. "Where are the broom and dustpan. You two shouldn't be cleaning this up. It's my fault and I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"I came by to see if I could get your help with my mission." The female's voice paused for a few seconds. "Ichigo, that voice..."

"What voice... I didn't hear any voice." The boy felt the corner of his mouth twitch before the girl shoved past him.

Yuzu had gotten the broom and dustpan and was watching as Kaien swept the broken glass up. Karen attempted to move between Rukia's view and their uncle. Her hands clasped behind her back while her mouth twisted up from the knowledge that things likely weren't going to go the way she wanted despite her best intentions.

The small shinigami first moved to the kitchen while Ichigo grabbed her arm in an attempt to prevent her from seeing the man. "Rukia, you can't just barge in like this."

It was then that Kaien stood up to dump the broken dish into the trash only to have his eyes focus in on the small shinigami. Rukia's mouth opened and then shut a couple of times. "Kaien-dono."

Ichigo rolled his eyes into the back of his head. Kaien though frowned at her. "Sorry, but do I know you."

"Rukia-nee! This is our uncle Kaien. Ichi-nii must have told you about him despite the fact papa told us not to say anything." Yuzu smiled at her. The dark haired man frowned at Rukia as if he found the fact she was staring at him as if she knew him to be disconcerting. He moved over to the trash can.

"That's not possible." Rukia continued to stare at the man.

"By the way, who is your friend Ichigo?"

"Rukia, she's just..."

Yuzu interrupted what he was saying. "She's Ichi-nii's girlfriend."

The dark haired shinigami felt her cheeks suddenly heat up. "That's..."

"No! Yuzu!" Ichigo waved his hand and gave his sister a rather flabbergasted look. "Rukia and I are classmates. She came over asking for some help on..."

"Homework." The small female suddenly grinned as she curtsied at the man. "We really need to be getting to work on the class project we've been assigned as its due in a week! Come on Ichigo!"

The small female grabbed his arm and dragged the boy up the stairs. When they were gone Kaien turned to the two girls. "While they may not be dating, it seems rather obvious that they like each other."

"See? Ichi-nii and Rukia-nee are in serious denial." Yuzu then glared at Karen. "Almost as in big of a denial as two other people I know."

"I'm not in denial Yuzu." The girl headed over to the couch. "Hey, oji-san. Do you want to watch a movie with me and Yuzu."

"As soon as I finish with the dishes." He then turned to look at Yuzu who was frowning and looking at the ground. "Is something the matter?"

"No. I just remembered a bit of homework I have to do before I watch the movie with you."

**M**

Rukia quickly pulled Ichigo upstairs and into his room. She then shoved him towards the bed and stood there with her arms folded, tapping her foot and glaring at him. The orange haired teen flipped over onto his back. "What ever is the matter with you Rukia?"

"Ichigo... what is going on here?"

The boy folded his arms. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you that I am not able to have guests staying here. But..."

"Ichigo!" The small female pulled a stuffed chappy from her bag and held it out. "I _knew_ you had a guest and had brought a gift for them as I knew I would have to come over and get your help on the mission. I didn't realize that the mission would be right here in your own home! But then it shouldn't surprise me."

"Rukia, I don't think my uncle would like the creepy bunny." The boy stared at the overly cute stuffed animal wondering what was going on with the girl.

The rabbit was suddenly thrown at his head. "Don't you _dare_ tell me what Kaien-dono would or would not like! And he _isn't_ your uncle!"

Ichigo let out a deep breath and grabbed the bunny off the bed. He then walked behind her and grabbed her shoulders and walked her over to his desk to sit down. "Rukia... you need to calm down."

"Calm down Ichigo? I know that you may be trying to help Kaien out, but pretending that he is your uncle simply because he has lost his memories is wrong. And..."

"I'm _not_ the one who found him and brought him home. It was my dad Rukia. And if he says that Kaien is his brother then I'm going to believe him. I know he hasn't told me certain things, but when he has told them to me he has so far not lied to me." Ichigo snapped the words out.

The small female looked at him, her eyes wide in confusion. "Your father?"

"My father is a former shinigami, all right? Karen knows that he used to be a captain level shinigami because I told her when she told me... that reminds me! Karen says she saw one of Uncle Kaien's memories and that he knows you. What's that about anyways? You obviously acted like you know him despite the fact his memories of you are gone."

Rukia leaned back in the chair. "What do you mean by she saw one of his memories? _Which_ one Ichigo?"

"Ahh... apparently Karen has an ability to empathize with people and pick up emotions and memories, kind of like how you can sometimes see another persons memories by clashing with their zampaktuo." Ichigo frowned. "Rukia, are you crying."

The small female raised a hand to her eye. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Rukia, you can't tell Soul Society about our uncle being here. My dad may be crazy at times, but he was damn adamant that we not let you guys know."

"Ichigo, I'm going to have to think of a way around telling them, but believe me when I say I don't want to tell them about Kaien-dono of all people." She let out a deep sigh. "We do have to tell..."

"Nobody..." The male crossed his arms across his chest.

"Ichigo! We need to tell Shiba Kukaku."

"Oh, her? I had thought about talking to her as dad wasn't giving me answers, but I didn't want to risk getting on her bad side. I mean, if he is her ex-boyfriend or something. That would be bad." The male folded his arms. "Her beatings..."

"Ichigo!" The female shook her head. "This is what I am talking about Kaien not being your uncle! His full name is Shiba Kaien and there are only three siblings, Kaien-dono and the other two you've met."

"Are you sure?" Ichigo frowned.

"That isn't it. Kaien-dono is _supposed_ to be dead."

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure? I'm the one you killed him!" The girl closed her eyes. "I will need to talk to Karen to see what memory she has."

"If you're worried about her hating you because you killed him..."

"The story's complicated." Rukia let out an angry sound before closing her eyes. "Kaien-dono used to be the fukutaicho of the thirteenth before me. He was also married. I looked up to both of them and his wife was taken over by a Hollow. He swore he'd kill her, but then he got taken over as well and I ended up killing him."

"That's it? I'm sure he'll forgive you."

"Ichigo! He should be headed into the cycle of rebirth because..." Rukia paused. "Of course. That may explain a lot of things."

"Care to fill me in?"

The small female glanced up. "The hollow I encountered when we were rescuing Orihime had absorbed the Hollow that took over Kaien-dono. Thus he ended up with his memories as well. I killed him though, but there is a chance there was a back up of Kaien-dono's memories that Mayuri some how got a hold of."

"You mean the guy who made clones of himself?" Ichigo took a deep breath. "He made a clone of my uncle?"

"Ichigo... we don't know if he is your uncle or not. We need to be able to speak with Kukaku about that."

"Should I think of him as being the real Kaien or not though?"

"I don't know. I don't want to think about it really."


	11. Twisting the Fate Line

**Breath of Life  
**_**~Twisting the Fate Line~**_

"Should I think of him as being the real Kaien or not though?"

Ichigo's words caused Rukia to take a deep breath as she hadn't wanted to think about that. It was bad enough that she was having to deal with the idea that a man she had seen die twice was right there in front of her eyes. She folded her arms across her chest and directed her eyes towards the ground. "I don't know. I don't want to think about it really."

"So... what can you tell me about my uncle?" The orange haired teen's words caused the girl to suddenly glare at him.

"Could you not call him your uncle until we prove that he is in fact your uncle?" Rukia frowned at him.

"And what else am I supposed to call him." One of Ichigo's hand's reached up to scratch his head. "Come on, if he really is family I want to know more about him. I obviously can't ask him."

The small female stretched her fingers out in front of her. "There isn't much to tell."

"The fact you are avoiding the subject makes me wonder if you have a crush on him or something." The next thing Ichigo knew an eraser was flying right at his forehead and knocking him back onto the bed. He sat up slightly and clutched his head. "What the hell was that for?"

"I do _not_ have a crush on Kaien-dono!"

"Could have fooled me. Your face is turning red and you're getting mad at me." The boy sat up and leaned forward while continuing to glare at the girl.

"Your idea is just sick!" Rukia snapped the words out.

"Why? It isn't as if he is married, right?" Ichigo's mouth remained open as he took in the nasty look directed at him."

"Kaien-dono is... was married." The small female found herself glancing at the ground. "She died right before he did."

"So... are you saying you don't have a crush on him because he is, was married?" The orange haired teen pointed his finger at her.

Rukia closed her eyes and shook her head. "You are such a moron. Kaien-dono and his wife... I looked up to both of them while they were alive. Kaien-dono taught me how to use my zampaktuo and his wife was the person I wished most to emulate. They were my mentors."

Ichigo remained silent and folded his arms across his chest. "Why then did your face turn red when Yuzu said that you and I were boyfriend and girlfriend? I mean, we aren't..." The boy paused as he watched Rukia's face turn red in the face. "... seriously. What is the matter with you?"

"I don't want to pretend to be your girlfriend in front of Kaien-dono!" The words came out of Rukia's mouth. "I mean, I don't have those kind of feelings for you. Ha... ha... ha. Ha... ha... ha."

"Your laughter is creepy. I can explain things to him later on. I mean, it isn't the first time Yuzu's decided to play match maker. It was _really _funny when she decided that Toshiro and Karin were boyfriend and girlfriend." Ichigo watched as Rukia suddenly fell out of the chair thinking.

"Hitsugaya Taicho!" The female couldn't get the words out.

An orange eyebrow raised up. "That's more normal laughter. But it gets better. Karin had invited him over for dinner and I was busy reading the newspaper. I knew they weren't dating, but Yuzu kept pestering them and Karin asks me to tell Yuzu that I'm friends with Toshiro as well. I turn around and ask him what the hell he was doing."

Rukia's laughter continued and finally she pulled herself into the chair. "You told a taicho... oh my gosh. Why did you do something like that?"

"Because Toshiro is a kid."

"No. Well, I mean he is a kid which is why the idea of him dating Karin is laughable. It goes right over his head." The small female shook her head. "But really..."

"His reaction was so worth it." Ichigo laughed.

"It was mean though. I mean, he doesn't have a crush on her. He told me they were just friends." Rukia shook her head.

"I don't know..." The boy frowned at the small female shinigami. "One of the reasons I teased him was because I figured he did have a crush on her."

"That's also mean. You don't know Hitsugaya Taicho enough to make that kind of judgment."

"Perhaps it is a good time to change the subject."

The small female stood up. "I need to be getting to Orihime's place as it is getting late. I'll meet up with you at Urahara's shop to discuss where we'll go from here."

**M**

Rukia went over to Orihime's apartment and knocked on the door. The door opened up and the orange haired female stuck her head out with a toothbrush still in her mouth. She spoke through a mouth full of toothbrush suds. "Oh, Rukia. Are you in need of a place to stay?"

"Thank you so much Orihime." The small female slipped into the room and eventually she bedded down for bed. However, she couldn't find herself sleeping and got up in the morning and headed towards the shop. She found Ichigo there already in his soul form. "What exactly are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to go to Soul Society to ask Kukaku myself."

"Are you crazy!" Rukia shook her head at him. "And anyways, I am supposed to be figuring out what is going on here in the world of the living that caused such a problem."

"Think of something." Ichigo let out a deep sigh.

The small female opened up her phone and clicked a few buttons. "Ahh. Hello Hitsugaya Taicho. I need to head back to Soul Society for a couple of hours to do something important." There was a pause. "Does it relate to the mission?" Rukia pushed her lips together. "No, it is something I forgot to do before I left and I really need to get it done." She then blinked a couple of times. "Oh..."

She then hung up her phone. "Well that may be a bigger problem."

"Why? What is going on?" Ichigo frowned at her.

"Hitsugaya Taicho apparently spoke with the head captain about a certain issue and he's been cleared to come himself. He had been planning on coming himself anyways, so I can take a few hours out and then come back."

"That... felt too easy."

"Well, there is a chance now that a second person can now find out." Rukia frowned at him. "But we really can't do anything about that now can we?"

"No... wish we could. I trust Toshiro though not to do anything stupid."


	12. Of This

**Breath of Life  
**_**Of This~**_

Two small feet carried a very small taicho across the hallways of the first division as Toshiro moved through the hallways, his lips pushed together. He arrived near the office and was greeted by the fukutaicho of the first division. "Do you need to speak to the head captain Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"Umm..." The boy frowned, his arms crossed behind the back. He watched as the man raised an eyebrow and shifted from one foot to the other.

"The English expression I believe for the way you look is that you look like a kid whose gotten their hand caught in the cookie jar." The man frowned, crossing his arms. He watched as the small taicho stopped fidgeting and instead looked away. "May I suggest taking a few deep breaths before you go in there in order to gain your composure?"

The small taicho's eyes opened wide before closing his eyes and doing as the man had suggested. He then knocked on the door and was asked to come into the room. He slipped in to stand in front of the desk. "Can I ask why I'm allowed to wander the halls of the first division and end up coming straight to the office. Normally the other captains get escorted."

"One of the things about being as young as you are is that adults don't tend to notice your coming and goings even if you are a captain. May I ask what this visit is about?"

Toshiro took another deep breath. "About the reason I've been going to the world of the living so much. I figure I may as well come clean about why. I've been visiting Kurosaki Ichigo's sister, Kurosaki Karin."

He found himself shifting his weight to another foot. The man simply raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth twisted up into a smirk. "And..."

"And what?"

"We made it clear that it was fine making friends with Ichigo and his friends."

"But she's not his friend, he's his sister." Toshiro moved to the other foot.

Yamamoto let out a chuckle. "Ahh... you think you would have gotten in trouble due to a technicality?"

"The twelth division taicho made it seem that way." The boy grumbled as he glanced at the ground.

"Why haven't you told me about this sooner?" The man leaned forward and crossed his fingers. "I could have set your mind at ease much sooner and we could have avoided the whole mess with Kurotsuchi."

The boy glanced at the ground. "I don't want to be teased for finally making friends with someone and I don't want certain people I know of to construe our relationship as something else. I also thought I might..."

Toshiro glanced at the ground. Yamamoto spoke up. "Out with it."

"... I thought I might get in trouble for goofing off during a mission." The boy looked up. "To be honest, the reason we met was because I stopped her soccer ball from rolling into the street and things escalated to where I was helping her out with a soccer game. I've actually played soccer with her quite a bit when I've gone to the world of the living."

He then glanced to the side. "I admit I enjoy playing with her." A chuckle caused him to turn back, his eyes suddenly wide. "Shouldn't you be lecturing me about this?"

"May I ask you why you ended up helping her with her soccer game?"

"Some older kids were bullying her and her friends." Toshiro frowned.

"Then why should I lecture you? Have I not tried to foster a sense of justice with all of my captains? You were simply acting on what you felt was right." The old man then got up and walked over to the boy and touched his shoulder. "As for you actually spending time and playing with your peers, that is a good thing."

The boy took a deep breath. "How so?"

"Despite the fact you are a taicho, you are the youngest ever. You are still a child and deserve any chance to be a child you can still get." Yamamoto then pulled his hand away. "Plus, don't you see Kyoraku and Ukitake and how they take time to play?"

"They don't exactly make good role models. At least Kyoraku doesn't."

"Ahh, yes." The man then frowned. "However, there is something I wish to lecture you about. You didn't promise your friend that you would be spending time with her?"

"Yes. I did make a promise. I already apologized for that."

"Don't _ever_ go back on your promises. You should have told me this the day you came in with Mayuri."

"It wasn't _exactly _something I wanted _him_ to hear about."

"Since you made a promise go ahead and head onto the world of the living."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "You said that sending a captain would be problematic even with a limiter."

"I said it was problematic, but I didn't say it was definatly a problem. You've gone to the living world quite a few times before with little problems." The man's tone then darkened. "Plus, the _last_ thing I want you doing is going back on a promise. Help Kuchiki with the investigation."

The boy flinched but made a quick bow. As he was leaving he received the call from Kuchiki. "Does you're coming here relate to the mission?" The boy paused to let her continue. "Well, I was heading to the world of the living to help investigate as I've finally gotten the all clear from the head captain. Go ahead and get what you need to get done finished and then head on back."

He then headed into the twelfth division and found himself dealing with an irate taicho who was not at all pleased that Toshiro had indeed gotten permission to go to the world of the living. The man stalled until he got confirmation but Toshiro was then on his way. The first thing he did when he got out at Urahara's shop was ask the man if he could have the Kurosaki household phone number.

"What ever for?" The man raised one eyebrow.

"I wish to let Kurosaki know to meet me at the park so we can catch up."

"Which Kurosaki. From what I hear you know Ichigo and Karin."

"The sister..." Toshiro frowned.

"I'll make the call just in case their relative picks up the phone." The man went to his own phone and dialed the number. "You can go ahead and use this phone as well."

The boy scratched his head before letting out a deep sigh. "All right. If you think that is best." There was a pause. "Hello! I have a young friend of Karin's here who would like to speak with her." The man smiled as he spoke, his voice way to chipper. "Ahh! Hi Karin-chan! Someone is here to speak with you!"

He then handed the phone over to the boy. "Kurosaki?"

"_Toshiro? I thought you weren't able to get to..._" There was a pause almost as if she was wondering if she should say the words 'world of the living'. "_I thought you weren't going to be able to come to Karakura._"

"I took your advice. It worked. And I got lectured for not being upfront in the first place."

"_You aren't used to being lectured are you?_"

"What do you mean?"

"_The sound of your voice says you didn't like being lectured._"

"You can be used to being lectured and still not like it." Toshiro felt a frown spread across his face. "Though now that I think about it I'm typically not lectured. My lecture was also mild compared to the others, but then they're also supposed to be adults. I think the reason I don't get lectured much is because I've seen the older captains get lectured by the old man so I know I don't want to do anything to get on his bad side."

"_You don't think it has anything to do with you being as young as you are?_"

"Yamamoto respects me too much for that." The boy frowned. "Or perhaps it is because he respects me and knows I'm as young as I am that he holds back."

Karin chuckled on the other side of the phone. "_So, what do you want to do._"

"Would you meet me at the park so we could talk?"

"_Sure. To be honest, I hate having to wait and see you. I mean, I have my friends here, but you're honestly the closet I've gotten to, so I guess that would make you my best friend._"

"You're my best friend as well, but to be honest... you're also my only friend."

"_Toshiro, do you realize how sad that is?_"

"No... but then I honestly didn't know what I was missing out on until I met you."

"_Wait... did you say something else that is really sad or are you trying to make a joke?_"

Toshiro shook his head as he hung up and then went and got his gigai. He headed towards the park with his hands in his pocket. The corners of his mouth twisted up slightly. He then went and sat on the swing until Karin got there. The girl came and sat near him. "It's rather quiet today. How are you doing?"

"Better now that I'm not worrying about not getting to come." The boy glanced up at the clouds in the sky.

"Are you going to space off despite the fact we don't usually see each other." The other female snickered as she watched the boy.

"It's a nice day out." Toshiro's smile however quickly fell as he felt spiritual pressure. Instinctively he popped a piece of soul candy into his mouth before grabbing a sword. His eyes narrowed as he glanced down at his phone to see where the Hollow was coming from. He flipped it shut and held his sword up. The beast came out.

The boy moved to slice it with his blade, only to find it dodging and heading after Karin. He felt his eyes widening. The next thing he knew he was flash stepping in between the two, his blade blocking the monster. "_I can't let Kurosaki get hurt._" His eyes suddenly went wide as a third arm swiped him across the chest. "Damn, this isn't good."


	13. Of That

**Breath of Life  
**_**Of That~**_

"No. I just remembered a bit of homework I have to do before I watch the movie with you." Yuzu turned and walked up the stairs. The tone of her voice strained when she said this and she refused to look the two in the eye. She walked up the stairs, her feet making a slight sound as she went up. She then went to her desk and sat down.

The brown haired female picked up a pencil and began to twist it back and forth rather then doing her homework. She finally let out a sigh and pulled out her notebook and began to scribble on it with her colored markers, making a lot of hearts and not really paying attention to what she was doodling as she began to day dream.

She was drawn from her daze when Karin came into the room. "You missed the movie."

"Umm..." Yuzu glanced down at her notebook, frowning as she did so. In one heart she had written Kaien plus Yuzu and she clapped a hand over the heart. "About what Rukia-nee said about our uncle."

"What about it?" Karin went and sat at her desk in order to get the final things she needed for the next day of school done.

"Well, she said it wasn't possible." The girl spoke up, setting the pink marker on top of the notebook before pulling a textbook on top.

"What wasn't possible?" The girl frowned.

"I think she was trying to say it wasn't possible for him to be our uncle."

"Do you think dad would lie to us about that?"

"Well, Rukia acted like she knew him. Why then would dad hide him from her? We only have dad's word that he's our uncle." Yuzu placed her hands in front of the items she was trying to hide from her sister, the corners of her lips twisting up into a frown.

"Umm... I believe dad."

"No you don't. Something is bothering you. There is something that tells you there is something dad isn't telling us." The brown haired twin suddenly puffed out her cheeks.

"Just because he isn't telling us something doesn't mean that he's lying to us. And you're right in saying that I think there is something dad isn't telling us, but you know what? Ichi-nii seems to be out of the loop as much as we are." Karin went back to her homework. Without looking up she spoke. "Have you finished what you needed to get done for school?"

"Umm... I've got tomorrow to work on it." The girl got up and changed into her nightclothes before crawling into the bed and pulling her covers over her head. She heard her sister click the light on her desk off. Yuzu found herself soon falling asleep despite the fact the lamp from Karin's desk was still on.

**M**

The next morning Yuzu woke up early and began to cook breakfast. Her mouth was turned down at the sides as she worked. The door to the clinic opened and a male voice could be heard. "The look on your face seems as if you're trying to beat back an enemy."

The small female startled, her wrist hitting the handle of the pan and knocking it onto the floor as she looked at the man in surprise as she clutched her burnt hand. "I..."

Kaien shook his head and bent down scooping up the hot pan and quickly sticking it in the sink. "Where is the first aid kit, or do I need to go to the clinic and get one."

"It's in the cupboard over there." The small female's cheeks flushed up as he went to work bandaging up her hand before cleaning up her mess.

"Go and sit."

"But..."

"Yeah, I got that its your job to do the cooking and stuff, but it wouldn't be right for me to let my cute niece cook with her hand injured like that." Kaien didn't see the frustrated look on her face before he went to work tossing something together.

Isshin's footsteps could be heard on the stairs and he looked at the two. "What happened this time?"

"I startled Yuzu-chan when I came in through the clinic. I'm not letting her cook with her hand burnt."

The other man let out a deep sigh. "Sorry Yuzu, but your uncle is right."

Soon the other two Kurosaki family members came down the stairs. Karin and Ichigo gave both Kaien and Yuzu strange looks but decided it was best to say nothing. Ichigo finally stood up. "I'd better go and help Rukia with that school project of hers."

"What?"

"Rukia showed up last night." Karin piped up. "It was a rather interesting experience."

"Oh..." Isshin's voice tensed up. "I thought I told you guys we weren't to have guests over?"

"Rukia came over to drop off a gift for our guest. Speaking of which..." Ichigo reached into his back pocket and tossed the small stuffed animal at his uncle only for the man to catch it. "She left it behind."

"A chappy?" Kaien frowned before setting it onto the counter. He didn't say anything more, but the two girls looked at each other.

"Is that some sort of old cartoon show?" Karin finally asked.

"I guess. I don't really remember." Their uncle brought over the food. "Ichigo, are you sure you don't want to eat."

The orange haired teen stared at the man, the corners of his mouth turning down. "Are you sure you and my dad are related? You're so much more level headed then he is and the way you try to mother us is kind of smothering." He watched as the corner of the man's mouth suddenly twitched before grabbing a couple of slices of toast. "I really have to go now."

Kaien sat down in one of the empty chairs and leaned on his arm. "Is there a problem with the way I'm acting."

"You're acting the way you always acted, so no." Isshin brought his cup of coffee to his mouth. "Ichigo's a teenager and he's going to graduate high school though, so don't worry about him. That's what I think his real problem is. You don't have to make an effort to fit in either. Let things come to you rather then forcing them. Anyways, I'll be in the clinic. If an emergency comes up I'll be there, or if need be the local hospital."

Kaien nodded his head, only to suddenly flinch after the man had left the room. "Say what!"

"Dad sometimes hangs out with Uncle Ryukin. They're rather good friends and I think he's related to our mother." Karin piped up as she worked away at her food.

The phone rang and Kaien picked it up. A frown crossed his face and he suddenly held it out to the girl. "I think its the salesman from yesterday. Apparently a friend of yours wants to speak to you."

"Oh! By salesman you must mean Urahara." Karin grabbed the phone. "Hello Urahara."

"_Ahh! Hi Karin-chan! Someone is here to speak with you!_"

"Mr. Urahara is the owner of the candy shop. Ururu and Jinta live with him, they're very good friends of ours."

"I see..."

"_Kurosaki?_"

"Toshiro? I thought you weren't able to..." Karin glanced over at her rather wide eyed twin. "I thought you weren't going to be able to come to Karakura."

Yuzu's face suddenly brightened up. "Toshiro's Karin's boyfriend."

"Toshiro..." Kaien shook his head. "Kind of like how Rukia is Ichigo's."

Karin almost opened her mouth to say something, thus interrupting her conversation with the small captain of the tenth, only to see her uncle cross his fingers and shake them, indicating he fully understood that they were not dating.

"Don't they make two sets of adorable couples!"

"I guess so." The small female then hung up the phone. Kaien glanced up. "What did your friends say that is so sad."

The small female frowned. "Umm... Toshiro's not very good at making friends, and I'll leave it at that, and that I'm going to be meeting him. If either one of you need me, Tsubakidai isn't far away."

The girl then hurried out of the room and Kaien looked at Yuzu. "Hey... you missed watching the movie with Karin and I yesterday. Do you want to watch one now."

The small female bit her lip. "No, I've got a cooking program I want to watch. Bye."

"Bye... you're just going to be on the couch... never mind." Kaien began to pick up the dishes and worked on cleaning up. He quickly finished before looking at the door. "You know, I'm going to go for a walk, do you want to come with?"

"Dad doesn't want you leaving!"

"What he doesn't know can't hurt him. I'll be fine, plus... I'm a little worried as I can't feel his presence anymore."

"Feel his presence? What do you mean by that?"

Kaien blinked a couple of times before shaking his head and heading out, pulling in a particular feeling that he had. After a bit, he found himself feeling a familiar feeling coming from a near by park. Instinctively he moved at a fast pace and caused a few people to turn their heads as a wind passed by him, but no one seemed to actually notice him.

He arrived inside the park and skidded to a stop, just in time to see one of those monsters attacking his niece and a rather young boy trying to protect her from the hollow. The boy took a blow to the chest before staggering back and getting another to the leg. Kaien couldn't hep but notice that a similar body was nearby and more instinct kicked in.

He was soon out of the fake body and pulling out his blade. He moved to place himself between the hollow and the two children, his blade coming up to slice the creature in the mask. He then turned to see if both were all right, only to see that both had rather horrified expressions on their faces that hadn't been there when the Hollow had attacked.

_Author's note – Isshin being a Shiba is official canon. A lot of people think he's their uncle, but so far there is nothing out right saying that Isshin is the uncle that Kukaku is thinking of._


	14. Icy Shock

**Breath of Life  
**_**Icy Shock~**_

Toshiro found himself staring right at the Hollow as it's third arm came down across his chest and then across his hip area. He found himself cursing out loud as he looked at the Hollow, knowing full well that he wasn't in a good position to protect her like he wanted to. He could feel his Adam's apple bobbed down just as something moved between him and the hollow.

At first Toshiro thought nothing about it as the sun was setting behind the Hollow at the figure and he at first thought that the person was in fact Kurosaki Ichigo. He felt his jaw drop as he saw the shape of the blade was very different from the substitute shinigami. There was also a slight fluctuation from the person that told him that they were not the same person.

After the Hollow began to disintegrate, the man turned his head slightly and it became very apparent that the man's hair wasn't dark from the lighting but was naturally dark. Toshiro also saw the familiar set of eyes and the boy felt his eyes widen even more as well as the heat leave his cheeks from the shock of seeing that particular person.

"_Why? He is supposed to be dead, so why is he here of all places?_" These were the first words that came to Toshiro's mind as he felt a pain in his chest that was not related to his injury.

"Uncle Kaien!" Karin spoke up behind the small taicho, causing him to turn to look at her. As he caught the worried look on her face, she caught the look of utter horror on her face. She swallowed just as his legs collapsed from under him, causing him to fall to the ground. "_Does he hate oji-san or something? I don't like this vibe I'm picking up from him._"

The man was quick to sheath his blade before reaching out to catch the boy. "Karin, shouldn't you be more worried about you're friend here?"

The female opened her mouth to say something before moving so that she could support Toshiro with her own body. One of his arms was over her shoulder as his head hung down. She turned her head to his gigai. "Get back to the clinic." As the figure left, she turned to her uncle. "As for you, you _really _need to get back into your body uncle. If someone sees you like that you could be in serious trouble."

The man frowned, his spiritual pressure hidden once again as he moved to the body he had left on the ground. He then came back and lifted Toshiro slightly. The boy felt _that_ pain suddenly increase in his chest. "No... wait..."

"You look like you're going to black out. As if I'm going to let you do something as foolish as walking back to the clinic." The man went down low before heaving the boy over his shoulders. "Now just hold on, we can get back quickly."

The man then began to walk fast, Karin hot on his feet. The small taicho bit his tongue as he tried to fight back the urge to lose his composure. "_Not in front of him of all people, and not in front of Karin. What the hell is going on?_"

"_Let him get you back to the clinic child._" The dragon hummed in his ear from the back of his mind. Rarely did the dragon refer to him by his actual age and the boy could feel himself suddenly flinching from the rebuttal.

"Just hang in there and don't struggle too much. I know you don't like this, but be patient." Kaien's words caused the boy to flinch again from frustration.

"_Why? I feel like such a child and I'm not a little kid anymore!_"

The trio arrived at the clinic and Kaien suddenly cursed under his breath. "Why does your father have a sign up that the clinic is closed and that he's out at this point in time?"

Karin glanced away. "_It is possibly a good thing dad isn't around as he can't see Toshiro and can't be of any help._"

Toshiro found himself lifting his head slightly at the mentioning of the Kurosaki family's father whom he had never seen before. His dragon piped up at the back of his head again. "_Or have you?_"

"_If the Kurosaki family is indeed related to Kaien-dono then that would mean that they're related to the Shiba family. The only other sibling they had was..._" The boy found his eyes suddenly closing.

"He..." Karin paused, frowning as if something crossed her mind. "He does work at the hospital as well I think."

The man let out a deep sigh and went to the front door, allowing the girl suddenly open the door. Yuzu glanced up. "Oh... you're both back."

The small taicho felt Kaien suddenly flinch and he opened his eyes and looked carefully at the man's expression of shock. "_She can't see me._"

"By the way, for some reason Toshiro showed up and he headed to the clinic. I told him that dad wasn't there, but he went anyways."

Karin suddenly tugged on his sleeve. "We'd better see what Toshiro is up to."

The man frowned, the confusion evident on his face. The two headed into the clinic and over to the room Kaien had been using. He lifted the boy off of his shoulders and set him down. "What was up with your sister. She acted as if she couldn't see him."

"That's because she can't see him." The girl crossed her arms as she looked at Toshiro who in turn looked at his lap. "_Something is bothering him. The way he's avoiding eye contact with oji-san makes it seem as if he thinks he's a Hollow or a giant bug._"

The dark haired male suddenly tugged at the boy's clothing before shaking his head. "Get a hold of your father."

"But..." Karin opened her mouth to protest only to see a very dark look at her uncle's face. Her mind was snapped away so suddenly from her thoughts about Toshiro's behavior that she didn't take time to argue further."All right, I'll call him." There was a sigh that followed. "_But dad can't do anything as he can't see Toshiro._"

The boy stared at the man and watched as the man stared at him, obviously thinking about something. The man wasn't _acting_ like the Kaien he remembered. Indeed, some of his behavior seemed overly on guard. The man then spoke. "This question may seem odd, but do I know you?"

"What?" Toshiro blinked a couple of times while the man folded his arms across his chest.

"Are you perhaps one of the kids I couched soccer for?" The man continued to look at him.

"_He doesn't remember anything._"

"_That would explain why he's acting as strangely as he is._"

"I guess you could say that."

"How did you come to be friends with my niece?"

Toshiro felt himself suddenly fidgeting a bit. "_It doesn't matter if he has amnesia or not, or if he's not really him. Having him show up..._"

Karin suddenly came into the room, a rather irritated look on her face. "Dad's coming, though I don't know how much help he'll be."

Kaien let out a sigh of relief. "No, your father's good at healing. He always has been."

"_Yes... if they're both talking about __him__ then he was always good at healing._" Toshiro frowned.

"Hey, kid... do you know when I stopped coaching soccer, whether it was a recent thing or not?"

The female child suddenly felt her eyes widening and she looked at her friend, who simply avoided his look. "_I don't like this vibe I'm getting off of him. There is this feeling of utter disgust._"

The small taicho felt his mouth open slightly. He first looked at the man and then looked at Karin. The girl was giving him a rather nasty look. "Hey... oji-san. Can I talk to Toshiro before my dad gets here?"

"_Wait... if she starts asking questions... I don't know what I am or am not allowed to tell her!_"

"I'm going to go and look for that doppelganger of his then to make sure he's not getting into any trouble."

"_And I can't face her after that!_" The boy took a deep breath as the man left.

"Toshiro..."

"No, just leave." The words came out of his mouth without thinking, but the pain in his chest was getting worse in both regards.

"_Why_ did you tell my uncle that he couched you at soccer? You and I _both _know that you aren't from the living world." The girl folded her arms across her chest as she continued to glare at him.

Toshiro found himself glancing away and letting out a cough. "I think you should know by now that he isn't from the living world either."

"But you _lied _to him."

"I did not!"

Karin stared at him as she thought about what he said. "So you're telling me that the place you come from has soccer teams."

"No, but..." Toshiro found himself suddenly biting his lip before continuing. "Look, this is none of your business. Could you just leave?"

"Why do you want me to leave?" The comment from Karin caused him to suddenly flinch and his mouth open again. "You're going to contact the other shinigami about Uncle Kaien, aren't you?"

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "Wait... no..."

"You want me to leave because you don't want me to know that you're ratting on him."

"That's..."

"I already know Rukia knows my uncle Toshiro. She knows full well that he is here."

Toshiro narrowed his eyes. "_I told her not to come over here._"

"_No... you told her she couldn't stay here. There is a difference between the two._"

"What is with that look on your face?" Karin continued to glare. "Do you dislike my uncle or something? Why do you keep avoiding the subject, even avoiding his gaze. Toshiro..." The girl then held out her hand. "Your phone."

"What?" Toshiro glanced up. "Could you just..."

"Your phone."

"I can't give it to you! I use it for work!"

"And work involves turning my uncle in." Karin held out her hand. "Give it so I know you can't call the other shinigami on this."

The small taicho reached into his robes and let out a hiss of pain. However, he handed the phone over to the girl. The girl opened it up and then placed pressure on either side. "Hey! What are you doing!"

"Making doubly sure you can't turn oji-san in."

Toshiro moved forward, only to wince in pain. "Kur..." A sudden snapping sound was heard and his eyes went wide. "Kurosaki!"

It was then that a shuffling sound was heard. Kaien opened the door. "What is g..." The look of worry on his face quickly turned to one of irritation. "Karin... what are you doing?"

"I..." The female looked at Toshiro, her lips pushing together.

The boy stared at him for a few minutes before grabbing the phone back. "Nothing happened."

"It is rather obvious your phone is broken."

"I asked her if she could try to fix it..." Toshiro lied. His eyes darted towards the floor.

Kaien opened his mouth to say something, only to look back towards the door. "Your father is here. I'll be right back."

When the man was gone Toshiro found himself suddenly cursing. "Shit."

"You really don't like my uncle do you?"

"Where did you get that idea from?" The boy grumbled. "And please... just go."

"There is a sound of disgust in your voice right then."

The boy felt his hands tighten around the sheets as he pushed his teeth together. "_Of course I'm disgusted. I'm disgusted with myself, but I __really__ don't want to tell her that._"

It was then that the door slid open. Karin glanced up, but Toshiro continued to look at his lap. The girl frowned at the man. "I really don't understand why we're asking dad for help. He can't see Toshiro either."

It was then that a panicked sound came from the boy's voice. "What do you _mean_ he can't see me!"

_Author's note – This chapter took quite a few drafts until I got it right and I find myself cutting it off here as it's gotten very long._


	15. Tension

**Breath of Life  
****_~Tension~_**

"What do you _mean_ he can't see me!" Toshiro's voice strained as he looked straight at Karin's father, the color in his face leaving. He then opened his mouth like a fish as if he wanted to say something more, but instead his eyes kept slowly widening and the emotions emanating from him were that of complete panic.

Karin shook her head at the young taicho as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Toshiro, my dad has never been able to see ghosts."

The next sound Toshiro made was a deep sound of air being taken into his lungs and then a sudden coughing fit as the pain got to much for him. When he stopped coughing, his bright teal eyes were looking down at his lap. He kept himself from taking another deep breath. "Is this some sick joke you guys are trying to play on me?"

"Joke?" The female titled her head slightly, then shook it a couple of times. "I'm not joking. My dad can't see ghosts."

A deep breath of air came out of Isshin's mouth. "Actually, I need to apologize to you about that."

Karin felt her jaw drop before she snapped it shut. She glared at Toshiro as she couldn't look her father in the place. "All things considered, it isn't that surprising considering Rukia-nee happens to know Uncle Kaien."

Isshin pulled back his sleeves and moved over to the side of the bed and sat down in the rolling chair. His hand reached out to carefully remove the upper layers of Toshiro's clothing. "Kaien, could you help me with this."

The man moved to the other side, only to pause as he looked at the back of the child's clothing. The corners of his mouth turned down and his nose wrinkled up as some memory or thought came to his head and then one hand went up to cover one of his eyes. "Nii-sama, didn't you used to wear something like this?"

The girl found herself opening her mouth while Isshin looked up at the man, the corner of his mouth twitching. Kaien glanced up in time to see that his brother was bothered by his comment. "Did I say something wrong? I'm quite sure you had this exact symbol on the back as well."

Karin felt her eyes suddenly widening as she looked at Toshiro. The boy glanced up for a few seconds and she suddenly felt the feeling that had subsided, the feeling of utter disgust. The female found herself looking away, before letting out a deep sigh. "I haven't a clue what that might mean, so don't ask me."

Isshin frowned, but there came a sudden squeaking of the bed. The girl turned her head in confusion to see Toshiro suddenly bowing towards her father, low to the ground position wise. She felt the corner of her mouth twitch. Her father reached out to try and touch the boy. "Come on Toshiro, I need to heal you up."

"Gomenasai!"

"What?" The man shook his head. "What are you apologizing for?"

Karin watched as Toshiro's head suddenly went up towards her slightly, only to jerk away. Both of the men suddenly raised their eyebrows in confusion. Kaien took a deep breath before going around to the other side to whisper into the man's ear. She watched as her father suddenly flinched before looking at her. He then took a deep breath. "I need you to step out. Why don't you go and look for his gigai?"

The girl let out a deep breath before heading out of the room. She began to look in each room until she found the look alike sitting in a corner with its knees pulled up to its chest. "There you are."

"Is he all right?"

Karin flinched, not liking the fact that thing was also speaking to her. She turned to leave and tell them she had found the "thing", only to suddenly pause and turn back. "Hey, how much do you know about Toshiro." She watched as the thing gave her a rather vacant look. "How about the taicho of his division before him?"

Two bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "Why?"

"He's my dad... his former taicho is." The female watched as the "thing slapped hands over its ears and frowned.

"I can't hear you."

Karin let out a deep sigh before heading back to the room. She could sense that her uncle was still in the room and choose to lean up against the wall and instead stare at the ceiling. Eventually the door slid back open and she turned her head to look at her uncle. He noticed that she was standing there. "Your friend is going to be all right."

"He's acting strange."

"By him I'm assuming your friend and not your father, because nii-sama isn't acting strange at all."

Karin slipped into the room, only to suddenly freeze when she noticed the look Toshiro gave her. Isshin let out a deep sigh. "I owe you... and your brother an explanation. Yuzu eventually as well."

"I think it should be rather obvious I'm not in the mood to talk to you." The girl leaned up against the wall.

The man looked over at the boy. "Just to forewarn you, I don't think he's wanting to talk to you right now. And he's not likely to answer your questions either." The man however got up. "You can try though."

The girl watched as the man left the room before turning back. Toshiro was still glaring at her. "What, are you mad at me."

"No. Just leave." The boy's face was twisted up, indicating he was angry at something.

"You aren't mad at my dad are you? He can be... well, I'm guessing you already know how he is. If so..."

The boy glanced away. "I'm not mad at your dad or your uncle, so please just leave."

"No."

"Kurosaki!" The boy turned to glare at her. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I _want_ to be left alone!"

Karin opened her mouth and thought about leaving, but then carefully pulled apart the feelings he was imitating. "You're lying. You actually don't want to be alone."

"I would rather someone other then you be here!" The boy's tone was strained. He then realized he hadn't taken a polite tone and glanced away. His clothing was lose around his shoulders and his midsection was wrapped in bandages.

"What has gotten into you! I've hung out with you many time and suddenly you're not wanting to be around me? Are you upset that I didn't tell you about my dad or my uncle? Because I'll tell you I didn't know. Or do you not want them to know that the one friend you have is a girl?"

Toshiro flinched and looked up at her with a rather sheepish look on his face. "Wait. Where did that come from?

"You told me that you don't make friends easily. Most guys would be embarrassed if their only friend was a girl."

The boy's mouth twitched, but then he blurted something out. "I'm not embarrassed for that reason."

Karin watched as he suddenly realized he had blurted something out he hadn't been planing on saying. "What are you embarrassed about then?" She watched as he glanced away. "I could easily put you into a headlock until I get the answer I want."

The boy looked at her, then glanced away again. "Because I messed up. I should have been able to take care of that Hollow by myself."

"So?"

"So?" Toshiro suddenly turned to look at her, as if it was really a big deal.

"Stop with the big ego. So what if you messed up."

"So what if I messed up?" The boy's tone began to raise again.

"It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes it is! I should have been the one to protect you. Instead I had to be rescued by someone else. It would have been one thing if it had been your brother, but instead it was your uncle! Your dad also knows that I had to have my but rescued. I know you're not blind to the fact he was my former taicho."

"Yeah... that so isn't an ego problem!"

"It's not an ego problem! I'm old enough to take care of myself now and it so doesn't look that way, does it."

"That's what you're upset about?" Karin found herself suddenly frowning. She watched as Toshiro frowned at her. "And the way you yelled at me wasn't childish at all?" The boy then glanced down. "Your normally not like this. Seeing them again has you worked up, doesn't it."

Toshiro glanced away. "I apologize that I can't tell you more. I think its your father's position to explain things to you, not mine."

"So you can't tell me what your rank was when my dad was your taicho?"

"Third seat... hey..." The boy frowned, his eyes narrowing at the girl.

"What's the problem with me knowing that bit of information?" Karin folded her arms. "My dad's also hiding my uncle from Soul Society because he's supposed to be dead, right?"

Toshiro frowned. "How did you know that?"

"I saw one of my uncle's memories."

The boy glanced away. "I can tell you I looked up to both despite the fact your dad can act like a moron at times. Like not letting you know that he can see ghosts, but considering the fact your sister can't see ghosts it was possibly to spare her feelings, so don't stay to miffed at him for that. About the soccer thing..."

"I know Soul Society doesn't have soccer teams."

"They don't. Your uncle though is the reason why I know how to play. I didn't think it was right to... well, he obviously doesn't remember who I am." The boy glanced away. "I would like to sleep a bit if you don't mind."

"Yeah... sure." Karin stood up. "And Toshiro... don't bottle all this in."


	16. Upside Down

**Breath of Life  
**_**Upside Down~**_

The sunlight in the Rukongai shown down on the heads of the orange haired substitute soul reaper and the dark haired member of the Kuchiki clan. Just ahead of them they could see the typical structure that Kukaku happened to construct outside of the Shiba household. Ichigo felt the corners of his mouth twist downwards upon seeing it. "Same as always I see."

"You know, if she is your aunt, you should be more respectful." Rukia turned to look at her friend, giving him her own frown.

"If it isn't master Ichigo!" One of the guards blurted out.

"It is good to see you again!" The other cried out.

"Hi. We're here to speak with Kukaku-san." The boy raised up his hand. "It is rather important."

"Follow us master Ichigo!"

"Lady Kukaku will be glad to see you!"

The two begin to follow the two down the stairs to the large room filled with mats. The guards announced their presence and opened the door. The woman glanced up. "Ahh... hello you two. What brings you here today?"

Ichigo followed Rukia as she went and knelt in front of her. The shinigami made a quick bow while the orange haired substitute stared at her. The small female then rose up. "We came to ask about your brother."

"Which one?" Kukaku tapped her pipe a couple of times.

The teenager suddenly pointed at her missing arm. "How did you come to lose your arm?"

"Ichigo!" Rukia shook her head. "If I am not mistaken, you have an older brother and you have a younger brother."

"Yes." The woman folded her arms across her chest as she watched Ichigo carefully.

The younger female let out a deep breath. "See Ichigo. I told you that the Shiba family had only two sons. She just confirmed it."

The orange haired teen stared at the older woman as he thought things over. "No. She didn't admit that she had only two brothers."

Rukia shook her head. "Ichigo... Kaien-sama is her older brother and Ganju is the younger."

"No... Kaien's her twin brother." The boy folded his arms as he frowned at the woman. "I know this because Yuzu and Karin don't refer to each other as being older or younger then each other."

Kukaku narrowed her eyes. "Why exactly are you prying into the Shiba family like this?"

"Does the name Isshin mean anything to you?" The substitute shinigami placed his hands at his sides.

"I'm going to ask how much he's told you." The woman let out a deep sigh as she fiddled with her pipe.

Rukia blinked a couple of times. "Wait... how long did you know that Ichigo's father..."

The woman frowned at the two. "I knew as soon as I saw Ichigo. Our uncle knew as soon as he saw you as well. You look to much like Kaien."

"Wait... what uncle?" Ichigo shook his head.

"The man in the Rukongai. He's the one who told Ganju that he shouldn't be picking a fight with you." Kukaku folded his arm. "Seriously though Ichigo, how much do you know?"

"Actually..." Rukia opened her mouth. "There is something we should tell you."

"Tell me what you know first."

"Dad actually didn't tell me that he was a Shiba. The only thing he's told me is that he's a shinigami, and in reality he didn't _tell_ me. He just showed up during the battle with that person and I found out then. I'm not exactly pleased with the fact he's not telling me stuff, but I can live with that." Ichigo stated. "But something is going on that... well."

"Ichigo... did you think this through at all?" Rukia shook her head. "Did you just come to confirm that?"

"No. Not really." Ichigo took a deep breath. "My father's probably going to be mad about letting you know this. And I'm not sure how it is possible, but..."

"I think Mayuri is possible and it has something to do with something he found and left out of the reports."

Kukaku took a deep breath. "Come on you two. Just spit it out."

Ichigo took a deep breath and scratched his head. "This is going to sound weird, but oji-san seems to be alive."

"No... I've had a weird feeling for that last couple of days or so. As you figured out Kaien is my twin, so I'm able to sense that he's around."

"But it can't possibly be Kaien-dono." Rukia frowned. "I mean... I know he's dead, and I killed the Arrancar that mimicked him."

"Oh, I know that two. I kept feeling Kaien until you took care of the Arrancar. I can't explain why I'm feeling him now, as he should have finally passed into the cycle of rebirth, but it is his soul, or so I think." The woman frowned at the two. "By the way... where is the captain of the tenth division?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho?" Rukia blinked a couple of times. "He's actually the one investigating in the living world right now. Why?"

"That's not good. If he finds out..." Kukaku closed her eyes and shook her head.

Ichigo frowned. "You don't trust Toshiro? I trust him not to say anything if he found out."

The woman opened them up. "Oh, I trust that child not to say anything either. Actually, I would _love_ to see my aniki having to deal with that child going into a panic attack over this. Not that I would wish for the boy to go into a panic attack mind you, but this is going to be a major shock. Isshin used to bring the boy home for dinner while he was still here in soul society."

"So Hitsugaya Taicho knows Ichigo's dad and Kaien-dono?" Rukia frowned and got a nod from Kukaku.

"I don't care whether Isshin wants me to tell you this or not, but Toshiro used to be his third seat back when he was the tenth division captain.

Ichigo suddenly stifled a laugh and the small shinigami glared at him. "What's so funny?

"I just thought about how if Toshiro likes Karin..."

"He does not..."

"I said if he did... how it would be even more amusing due to the fact my dad was his former taicho."

"Idiot."

The corner of Ichigo's mouth suddenly turned up. "By the way... how did you lose your arm? And what am I supposed to call you?"

"First off, despite me being your aunt that is none of your business. Second, Kukaku-san will do."

"It feels as if I am forgetting to tell you something that is very important, but I'm not sure what that would be."


	17. Up and Down

**Breath of Life  
**_**Up and Down~**_

Toshiro stared at the ceiling of the clinic as his mind tried to process the information he had gleaned. Every so often he would take a deep breath, thankful that his former taicho had taken the time to heal him up. The boy still felt a slight pain despite this and finally he closed his eyes in frustration. "_Does taicho not trust me?_"

"_What do you mean?_"

"_He didn't tell me that he was alive and it was rather obvious he didn't want me to know about Kaien-dono._"

"_I think he was just trying to protect you._"

"_I can take care of myself._"

There was a period of silence and the small taicho was quite sure that his dragon was thinking just like he was about the fact he had to be rescued by one of his former mentors. "_I think you need to ask him why he didn't tell you. That said, what about how you blew up at Karin? That isn't like you."_

Toshiro turned onto his side. "_It isn't like me? Well, what is like me?_"

"_Young master._" The dragon took a deep breath. "_You are still upset about the fact you couldn't be the one to rescue her and that instead you had to be the one getting rescued._"

"_I'm not upset._" The boy let out a deep sigh and sat up. "I'll go ask taicho about why he doesn't trust me enough to have told me the truth."

Two small feet touched the ground before he headed to where he remembered the entrance to the home was in the clinic. He paused however when he saw the door to the office and Isshin sitting in the room. The man was busy for once working on the paperwork and at first didn't notice him, but then he looked up at the boy. "I believe I owe you an explanation, don't I?"

"Yeah. Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me you were alive, that the substitute shinigami is your son or even that your brother is alive? Do you really think I would go running back to Soul Society to tattle on you?"

"Toshiro..." The man took a deep breath and turned in his chair to look right at the boy.

"Mmm... no. Don't try to patronize me. You don't trust me anymore then your daughter does." The boy found himself unable to look the man in the eye and suddenly looked away.

"Karin doesn't trust you?"

"She snapped her soul phone in half, so you don't have to _worry_ about me telling on you until I get back to soul society."

"I'll make sure you get a replacement from Urahara." Isshin leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin.

"Don't change the subject on me!"

"Close the door." The man folded his arms across his chest.

"It's not as if..."

"Toshiro."

The small taicho turned and closed the door. "As I was saying, it isn't as if anyone will be able to hear us. Karin, Yuzu and even Kaien are in the house."

"Yeah... but there is something I want to talk to you about that I am not sure if you'll be comfortable with other people hearing." Isshin pointed at the other chair. "So sit down."

Toshiro sat down on the chair and crossed one leg across his lap and leaned forward so his chin was resting in the palm of his hand. "So?"

"So? Well... the first thing I'm going to say is that my reason for telling you doesn't have anything to do with me not being able to trust you. I think the problem has to do with me trusting you to much." Isshin watched as a white eyebrow raised up. "Your asking how it is possible for me to trust you too much. Take the incident with Karin."

The young shinigami suddenly flinched, then shook his head in disbelief. "Hold on... I could have taken on that hollow. And I wouldn't ever put her into harms way on purpose."

"Yes. I know you wouldn't ever put her into harms way on purpose. On the other hand, I can't trust you to not put yourself into harms way when something you care about is on the line. You don't think rationally."

Toshiro ground his teeth together and glared at the ground as his hands clutched his uniform. "You said that you trust me, but then you go and say you don't. Which is it?"

"I trust you not to tell on me, but I also don't trust you not to put your own life in jeopardy simply because your life has _never_ had any worth to you. Actually Toshiro, that's why you messed up when you were trying to keep Karin safe. You had no problems with protecting _her_, but you sure did have problems protecting yourself. The fact you have little self worth has always bothered me."

The boy felt the corners of his mouth open and then close as he attempted to protest what the man said, only to find himself unable to think of anything. Two bright teal eyes glanced at the ground. "It's really weird seeing you actually act like a parent. Can I go now?"

Isshin shook his head at the boy. "We've talked about what you wanted to talk about, now we need to talk about what I want to talk about. Actually, it is related to what we were talking about as it does involve Karin."

Toshiro frowned and then shook his head as he closed his eyes. "Taicho... we're just friends."

The man remained silent. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it is honestly all right if you want to be more then just friends with her."

The child frowned, his hands clutching the leggings of his uniform tightly. "Now where did this idea come from?"

"Despite the fact I think of you as a son I know you don't think of Karin as a sister. Ichigo you may think of as a brother and Yuzu as a sister, but you don't think of Karin as a sister. Have you noticed that?"

"No... but you're right about that. Kurosaki and I discussed it and I came to the conclusion she's my first real friend since academy. That's a good thing though, right?"

"Yeah... its a good thing. The thing is, don't worry about your feelings developing into something more."

"Soul Society forbids relationships between those who are living and Shinigami." Toshiro folded his arms across his chest and leaned back slightly.

"My biological kids wouldn't exist if Soul Society had absolute control over the relationships between the living and the Shinigami. Actually, no substitute shinigami would exist."

"Yeah... but you of all people should know how much that would put that person you want to be with in danger as well as your children."

"And I say it was worth it."

Toshiro felt his mouth drop open and then he shook his head. "You know... as her father you should be more worried about her safety."

"Your gigai is two rooms in that direction."

The white haired boy let out a deep sigh before he stood up and went and fetched his gigai. He turned then to head through the door in the kitchen just in time to notice that Yuzu was almost finished with the dinner preparations. Without thinking he went to the cupboard and began to get the necessary items out to set the table.

When he turned around he found him face to face with Karin. The look on her face almost caused him to drop the plates. "You should be resting."

"I'm feeling better. I figure I would help."

"No. My niece is right. Come sit with me Toshiro until dinner is ready to be served." The boy looked over towards the couch, wanting to protest only to catch the rather stern look Kaien was giving him. Letting out a sigh he handed the plates over to Karin and went and sat down next to the man. The man then asked him a question. "So... which television shows do you like? Do you know what channel the show with Chappy in it airs?"

"Umm... I don't really watch television."

Kaien turned to him, frowning as he did so. "I thought all kids watched television. Other then soccer what do you do for fun?"

"Fun?" The corners of the young taicho's mouth twisted up as he thought about the question. "I don't... I guess I like reading."

"Well, that isn't a bad thing to be into. What kind of books do you like?"

"You should..." Toshiro snapped his mouth shut as well as his eyes. He then leaned back against the couch. "You have amnesia, so you wouldn't remember that."

"Wait... you know our uncle?" Yuzu's voice was suddenly strained. "How do you know him?"

"He used to be my soccer couch." The half truth rolled off Toshiro's tongue with ease.

"Was?"

"You two are in middle school, so that would mean Toshiro's moved up to the middle school division, right?"

The small female came over. "By the way Toshiro. What school do you go to? I was so sure you would be going to school with us as Karin's your girlfriend."

"She is not!" The boy felt his cheeks heat up and then realized that Kaien was looking at him. He turned his head slightly to see that the man was rather amused, much like Ichigo would have been. Toshiro hung his head and glanced away. "And anyways... how to say this..."

The front door suddenly opened and a loud voice was heard. "Yo! We're back!"

The small taicho felt the corner of his mouth twitch. Yuzu went hurrying over to her brother and Rukia. "Ichi-nii! Do you know what school Toshiro goes to?"

"Why do you ask?" Ichigo frowned as he stepped into the room.

"Because I was so sure that he would be going to school with Karin and me!"

"How's that possible when Toshiro's in the same grade as me?" The orange haired teen watched as everyone but Rukia and Toshiro stared at him.

Rukia let out a laugh as she played along. "Yeah... Hitsugaya-san is a child genius, so he skipped a lot of grades."

Yuzu held up her fingers and began to count off. "So... he skipped five years?"

Two white eyebrows raised up and the tone of Toshiro's voice took a rather amused sound. "Yup. I skipped five years. That is a _true_ statement."

"By the way... aren't you supposed to be helping us with a certain school assignment Toshiro? We're meeting here because we needed my dad's help, remember?"

"I know that."

"Ahh... so that's why you went and waited in the clinic for him. It wasn't because you got injured?" Yuzu turned to look at Karin. "Couldn't he have set the table rather then resting."

"He... umm... don't worry about it Yuzu. I'm not sure how to explain this one. I'll set the table for one more though."

There came a clicking of the plates and finally they were called over for dinner. Each took their seats and finally Isshin came into the room, only to stare at Rukia in disbelief. Ichigo glanced up. "We need to talk to you about a school assignment in the clinic. And is it all right that Rukia stay since she knows uncle? Her being her as well as Toshiro may help him remember, right?"

Isshin let out a deep sigh. "Uh-huh."

"Great! I get to sleep in Ichigo's closet!" This comment caused everyone to stare at the female. Toshiro had his fork in his mouth.

"Umm... what?' Kaien spoke up first. "Why is a young lady staying in the room of a young man?"

"I'm not saying in Ichigo's room. I'm staying in his closet. There is a big difference."

"How so?" Isshin glanced away.

Toshiro leaned over and whispered at the man. "I take it you knew about that but couldn't do anything about it."

"Hey... I did something about it as soon as I _could_ do something about it _kid_."

"The closet is a room in its own regard. It's small, dark and comfy."

"I'm sorry I asked." Kaien shook his head.

Rukia's mouth turned up into a frown. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. I just can't think of an argument about why you _can't_ stay in the side room to my nephews room, so I doubt my brother will be able to either." The man began to pick at his food.

"Oi... Kaien..." Isshin gave his brother an exasperated look. Letting out a deep sigh, he turned towards Ichigo with a smile on his face. "Well... I guess I can't argue against that arrangement, can I?"

"Gee... thanks you two." Ichigo found himself glaring at the two older family members. "And where is Toshiro going to stay."

"Not in your room for sure if she's staying in your closet."

"Ichigo's fine with it Hitsugaya T... san." Rukia blurted out.

"Toshiro can stay in my room with Kaien while I take the couch. Does that settle things for everyone."

"Sure." The younger of the two brother's looked up at a dish just out of his reach. He then turned to Karin. "Kukaku, could you please pass..." Whatever he was going to say was cut short by everyone staring at him. "I said something wrong, didn't I?"

"My name is Karin, not Kukaku." The dark haired of the Kurosaki twins turned to look around the table. "From the expression on your guys faces you know who this Kukaku person is. Care to feel me in?"

"Karin... how about I tell you after dinner." Isshin let out a deep breath. "I'd tell you now, but I think Kaien needs to remember who she is on her own."

Ichigo then slapped his hand into the palm of his hand. "That's what I forgot to tell her! I forgot to tell her that uncle Kaien has amnesia and won't recognize her. Well, maybe. He did recognize you dad."

"Ichigo..." Isshin felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

Toshiro though spoke up. "Wait. That's where you two were? You went and talked to _her_ of all people?"

Kaien let out a deep breath. "Well, I know you guys aren't going to tell me what the big deal is so I'm going to pretend this conversation didn't just happen."

"She is though planning on coming by."

"Ichigo!"


	18. Lectured

**Breath of Life  
**_**Lectured~**_

The rest of dinner was eaten in silence despite the fact three people at the table wanted to know who Kukaku was. Kaien stood up when he finished eating and took his dishes to the sink. "Do you want me to do the dishes Yuzu-chan?"

The brown haired girl glanced up from eating her own dinner, only to shake her head. Isshin let out a deep sigh. "Why don't you two wash the dishes together? It would be a great way for the two of you to bond with each other."

Yuzu glanced at the ground as she stared at the table. "Actually, I don't feel well so I'm just going to go to bed."

The brown haired twin stood up and pushed her chair away before heading up the stairs. Toshiro frowned at the girl before turning to Karin. "Is there something wrong with your sister?"

"I don't know. She got rather upset when Uncle Kaien cooked dinner. He's kind of..." The dark haired twin turned to look over her chair at her uncle. "It seems as if you enjoy cooking and cleaning as much as Yuzu does."

Kaien glanced up, frowning as he did so. "Well... I guess I do. Or I'm simply doing it because it is the polite thing to do. I really don't know. You five are going to be heading to the clinic so you can talk about some things, right?"

A few minutes later Ichigo was sitting on one of his dad's rolling chairs while the man stood in the door way to one of the rooms. Karin and Rukia sat on the edge of one of the med beds while Toshiro laid on it with his arms crossed behind his head as he kept his eyes closed. Isshin took a deep breath. "So, where should we start?"

"Who is Kukaku and why does Uncle Kaien keep calling me that. That's the second time he's done that."

"Hmm... yes... well..." Isshin reached a hand to scratch his head.

Toshiro though piped up from where he was lying on the bed. "I think it has something to do with the fact you look like a younger version of her."

Karin blinked a couple of times before turning to her dad. "Is she someone else who is related to us?"

"Yes... to be exact she is Kaien's twin sister." The man turned to look at Ichigo. "And what is this about her coming to visit?"

"She wants to meet Karin and Yuzu, not to mention see how Uncle Kaien is doing. She also said something about kicking your butt for not telling her that you've been alive this whole time. She said it will likely be today or tomorrow, so you're to expect her to be here."

"And what possessed you two to go all the way to Soul Society?"

"That's my fault," Rukia said. "I had only heard about three members of the Shiba clan."

"Wait..." Karin shook her head. "Our last name is _Kurosaki_."

"Your mother's last name was Kurosaki. My family name is Shiba."

"But Rukia-nee said that it was some sort of clan. Why is that?"

"The Shiba family was once one of the five great noble clans, but it has become disavowed. I have a half guess why."

"Boring." Karin let out a deep sigh. "Yuzu would be more interested in that piece of information. What is..."

"I think this is where you need to go and check in on your sister." Isshin spoke up, only to get a nasty look in return. "Look... I'll explain things to you eventually, but it would be better to explain it in small chunks rather then all at once." The smallest female let out a deep sigh before slipping out of the room. "I believe we need to discuss what we're going to be doing next."

"Not tattling."

"Duh Toshiro."

"Why are the two of you in the world of the living?" The former taicho of the tenth division frowned at the two.

"Why don't you ask the captain of the twelfth division." Toshiro sat up and looked at his captain.

Isshin frowned at the boy for a short period of time. "I'm guessing he has something to do with why Kaien is back."

"It is possible. I heard he was messing around with the scientist Espada's stuff before he came back, but the thing is I don't know what is going on." Rukia folded her arms across her small chest.

"I do know that man doesn't want anyone finding out. He tried preventing me from coming by making a big deal about my visits to the living world I've been making."

"You mean the visits you've made over the last year and a half to see Karin?" The response Isshin got was the boy staring at him with a rather blank look on his face. "Don't look at me as if I'm stupid. I've been aware of your friendship for some time." The man then folded his arms across his chest. "So it seems that we have to deal with him first."

"I'd call him and black mail him, but your daughter broke my phone." Toshiro's comment caused Ichigo and Rukia to stare at him. The small female reached into her pocket and pulled out her own and handed it to the small taicho. Toshiro flipped it open and dialed the number. "Hello."

"_Why aren't you back from your investigation?_"

"What investigation?"

"_You know very well what you were sent to the living world to investigate!_"

"I want to hear it from your own mouth."

"_You're investigating the possibility that I did something and it got loose._"

"Lets say I _did_ find what you experimented on. What do you think my response will be?"

"_That is assuming I did let lose an experiment._"

"We're assuming that you did. Let's say I were to tell you to stop looking for said thing and that your to stop all such experimentation."

"_Why?_"

"Because it is in both our interests that the head captain doesn't find out the truth, but it is also in your best interest that you don't mess with it again. I shan't go into detail why, but I will make your life miserable, as will Kurosaki Ichigo."

"_You're a nasty brat. Fine... if I did experiment on something and you did indeed find it I will leave it in your care._"

Toshiro snapped the phone shut and handed it back to Rukia. "There... its handled."

"Anything else we need to talk about?" Isshin asked.

"We can trust Mayuri to cover it up." The small taicho waved his hand. "He'll get a hold of me if he thinks there is anything I need to know. But this will only stall people finding out for a short period of time you know."

Isshin opened his mouth to say something, but Ichigo interrupted. "There is one more thing that we need to talk about. Yuzu mentioned that you got hurt. What happened?"

A frown appeared on Toshiro's face. The boy then glanced away. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Perhaps I should..."

The small taicho turned and glared at her. "My former taicho is very capable of healing kido thank you very much."

"I'm sorry... I didn't..."

"He's just mad that Kaien had to rescue him in front of Karin." Isshin stated.

"Toshiro..."

"Don't worry! I would have made sure nothing happened to her!"

"I'm more worried about the fact you let something happen to you."

"Shut up Kurosaki." Toshiro stood up and headed to the door. "If you don't mind I'm going to bed."

The small taicho walked out of the clinic and into the kitchen. Kaien was just finishing up the dishes and the boy headed up the stairs and went to Isshin's room. He opened the door and looked in tentivly. He then headed over to the bed and sat down. On the night stand there was a picture of Isshin with the woman that happened to be in the rather large poster down stairs. The boy let out a deep sigh before flopping onto the bed.

A knock came at the door and Toshiro sat up and noticed that quite a bit of time had passed. "Come in."

Kaien came in and sat on the opposite side. He noticed that the small taicho had a picture and waved his fingers for the boy to hand it to him. He looked at the picture, only to scowl. "It's pretty amazing what one takes for granted. I missed out on nii-sama's life."

"You're also missing your memories. You might not say the same thing if you had them. Actually, you might not be so fine with him if you had your memories."

"Why did you say that?" Kaien turned his head to look at the boy, but Toshiro choose to turn over onto his side and pretend to be asleep. "Never mind."


	19. Schooled

**Breath of Life  
**___**Schooled**___

Yuzu headed up the stairs to her room and sat down at her desk and pulled out her books for school. Instead of working on her homework she found herself doodling yet again, this time in one of the notebooks, filling the pages of the booklet with notes of how she and "Kaien" would get married. This held her attention for only so long and she found herself sighing as she leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

The door to her room clicked and the brown haired twin found herself shoving her books under something to hide them from whoever came into the room. "Why are you so jumpy? You and I have always shared a room Yuzu."

The one twin looked at her sister, before quickly packing her books into her bag. "It's nothing."

"Did you finish your homework?" Karin went and sat on her bed, crossing her legs as she did.

"No... I didn't get anything done." The small female suddenly felt a soft hand against her forehead.

"Well, you're not running a fever. Why is it that you're not acting like yourself?"

"It's..." Yuzu shook her head. "I don't get it."

"You don't get what?" Silence greeted Karin before her twin stood up and got into bed, pulling the covers over her head. "Never mind I guess."

The sound of the light clicking off could be heard and both girls soon drifted off to sleep. The next thing they knew the alarm for Yuzu to get up and start making breakfast went off and she found herself hurrying to pull her uniform on. The small female then hurried down the stairs and began cooking the food.

The first person to get up was Isshin as he could smell the food and then Toshiro soon followed suit. Yuzu watched as her father placed an arm around her sister's "boyfriend" and hugged him as if he was a member of the family. Her lips pushed together as she wondered how her father would react if she told him that she was interested in a certain someone.

Yuzu pushed her lips together and found herself slapping her head to get such thoughts out of her head. "He's your uncle..."

"Did you say something Yuzu?" Isshin's comment caused her to look up and see that both male personages were looking at her, Toshiro's eyes wide from shock.

"No... I mean... if you didn't hear anything... I mean..." The small female glanced back at her pan and let out a deep sigh. "Umm... Toshiro-kun, you didn't hear anything did you?"

"Me?" The boy continued to look at her with wide eyes.

"You had a kind of surprised look on your face." Yuzu found herself smiling at the boy. Isshin however frowned, almost as if he knew something was up.

"I was surprised t... your dad said anything as I didn't hear you say anything. You're rather... quiet." The boy continued to stare at her. "Is something wrong?"

The brown haired teen opened her mouth to say something, only to watch as her father started to mess with Toshiro's hair and cause said person a great deal of irritation. The spatula scrapped the pan and various breakfast foods began to go onto one of the serving plates. Yuzu carefully placed it on the table, only to find herself nearly jumping out of her skin as she saw her uncle Kaien standing behind her with another one of the trays that she had prepared.

"Sorry... I thought I would help." The man's dark eyes looked right into Yuzu's and she felt her cheeks suddenly heat up as she hurried away to get the other dishes. Soon everyone was eating breakfast in a hurried fashion to either get to class or work. The small female paused though, suddenly realizing that their uncle was taking their time. "Leave the dishes. I can handle them."

The small female found herself hurrying upstairs to grab her book bag and then back down and out the door, her cheeks heating up even more. Ichigo. Toshiro and Rukia headed off in a different direction, but Karin suddenly tugged on her sleeve. "What ever is the matter with you Yuzu?"

"Nothing... nothing at all." The girl suddenly paused. "Since Rukia and Toshiro know about Uncle Kaien, it should be all right to talk about him at school?"

"I don't know." The dark haired twin frowned, her eyes directed at the sky. "No."

"No what?"

"I think the people dad was worried about telling already know." Karin frowned. "But I also wouldn't want to go against his trust."

"You brought Toshiro home despite the fact you weren't supposed to."

"Actually, I didn't and you know I didn't. Ichi-nii didn't bring home Rukia-nee either." Upon arriving in the classroom, the two separated and went to speak with their friends who were also in the same class.

Yuzu began to pull her items out of her bag and one of her friends spoke up. "Can I copy your homework again?"

"Sorry... I actually didn't get my homework done this weekend." The brown haired twin gave them a weak smile. "We had a visitor this weekend."

Another friend picked up her notebook. "Whose this Kaien person?"

Two small hands reached up and grabbed the notebook. "Shush! Don't let Karin hear you!"

"Why? Does she also have a crush on him?"

"I don't have a crush on Uncle Kaien!" Yuzu slapped a hand over her mouth and glanced over to see if her sister had heard her. She closed her eyes in relief when she realized that her sister was oblivious.

"Your uncle? Aren't you guys... like related?"

"I don't know. He just showed up and my dad told us to call him uncle."

"Your dad's kind of weird. I wouldn't trust a word he says."

"But what does this guy look like that you're interested in?" One of the girls spoke up.

"He... umm..." Yuzu glanced at the ground. Her cheeks heated up.

"I think you should go for it."

"Wait... this guy is way older then her. Even if he isn't her real uncle."

"But he's cute, right?"

"What's going on?" Karin came over. "Are you guys bothering Yuzu for her homework again? She didn't do it... and I'm not letting you copy mine either."

The brown haired twin yanked her notebook back. Karin raised an eyebrow before holding out her hand. "What are you hiding from me Yuzu?"

"I... you wouldn't understand." The other girl stuffed the notebook into her bag. "Tell the teacher I'm not feeling well."


End file.
